precious!

I go to my sister's to play with her little ones more than to hang out with the sister herself. Oh, her dogs AND her espresso machine but the little ones still come first. She's dog sitting the most tiny precious little yorkie this week. I remember when my sister got her very first dog, a yorkie named Star, back in 2003 and remember how precious she was but this little one named Coco is just too cute.

Look at those eyes!!Cannot forget mentioning my nieces though. My sister really does treat them like they're human. I have to say, they're cuter than most humans I know. Sometimes I just want to take Mong *the Shitzu* home with me and then I remember I have to pick up her doodoo, walk, feed, and bathe her and then think maybe not!
We're talking about one of them being the ring bearer for Lena's wedding. I nominated Mong just because she's more alert, smart and my favorite. But I guess it is up to the Bride who favors Toy more. I've been telling her she'll end up waiting 2 hours for Toy to make it down the aisle. We'll see what happens!

skin doctor

If there is a PhD in extraction - she deserves it. Renee (I don't even know her last name or name of her shop!) is sent from God. Seriously. I've had facials and extractions done before and even went through a package of like 10 facials/extractions but nothing/no one compares to what I experienced this past weekend. I just tagged along w/my sister without much thought or expectation. I figured - you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. I was so wrong. We ended up going to her home since her shop was closed for the day. Her home is in long beach so it worked out better for us distance wise. At first, I thought...a facial at her house?? We went in to barking dogs and a Chinese hahr ah buh jee who led us to the living room to wait for Renee. I sat there reading Chinese magazines, not knowing what the heck it's about, but it looked like Chinese US weekly. (We were hoping to see a Korean celebrity in it but didn't.) And then tah dah~~~ Renee showed up.

She is so so so thorough. Thorough is not even a word to describe her. She's meticulous and so detailed and just perfect. I sat there watching her as she extracted my sister's nasty pores and pimples and I swear...it was like Discovery Channel for me. She educated me on what she was doing step by step, extraction by extraction. My sister clung onto me screaming for her life and I was getting nervous cuz I knew I was up next. It took 90 minutes...a whole hour and a half! And it's only $50!!! She did the whole nine yards - cleanse, extract, mask, moisturize - for $50! I was up next and I seriously cried at every single extraction. The tears just wouldn't stop! I looked like a complete idiot.

It was all worth it. As painful as it was, she was so thorough, educational, helpful and most importantly - my face felt 20lbs lighter from all the gunk she took out (it was like going to MYT) and it actually worked! I look much more refreshed, smooth and clean. I cannot wait for another visit. And she walked us out to our car and waived us good-bye until we we were out of her sight...isn't that so sweet!! It must be an Asian thing, but I was so touched. I love things like that. :)

when 24 hours is not enough

I came into the office today to catch up on some work. I'm falling a little behind and when you start falling behind with my job, it's a mean, ugly cycle...can never catch up! I had training all week in the mornings so work hours were really cut in half. I won't use that as an excuse...I've been lagging because I can't seem to get up in time for work because of my night hours prepping for the etsy shop. 24 hours just does not seem enough! Today: I'm at work now, will go home around noon to finish up my cards to list on etsy, take photos of them, go to the asthetician with my sister, rush to make it to our friends' daughter's birthday, come back and try (try is the key word) to list some items on etsy and open up the shop. If I can accomplish at least 2 things on this list today, I've succeeded. I'm at work - so I can knock 1 thing off! What is up and running is the blog: www.parywinklepapergoods.blogspot.com. It's a start, I guess. I really want to do this to pass time and as a hobby but my personality gets the best of me. It's all or nothing for me with just about everything. OK - need to get back to work so I don't fall even more behind than I already am at my real job.

new venture & the click

after much consideration and talks with ap, i will be making some paper goods to sell on etsy soon. gocco has got me even more hooked these days than ever and although the cost to use it is a bit on the pricey side, the fun/results are invaluable. i remember coming across etsy while planning my wedding and it was like heaven! there is so much creativity and fun there. i am amazed everyday at how crafty and ingenious a lot of etsiers are. am i ready? heck no. i'm my own harshest critic and the biggest pessimist. my coworkers have a joke and call me pessimist pary (or positive pary to be sarcastic)**below will show you why. but i'm just itching to gocco and there is no point in gocco'ing if i cannot share it with anyone. so that's what's been keeping me up late at nights - the r&d. i might be a pessimist but i'm a "planning" pessimist. i like to plan ahead because the unknown frightens me. i'm just getting some goods ready so i can open the shop with more than just one item to list. lets keep our fingers crossed i can move quickly!

speaking of my character at work...have you ever had a client hang up on you? well, it happens quite often than not when i have to break it to people that i cannot approve their loan, especially in this economic climate. well, when someone just "hangs up on you" hangs up on you - I can take it. they're angry - i just made their life miserable...i get it. but when i have not even declined your loan and you're a jerk to me just because you're a mean person - i have a hard time taking it. i won't go into the details about my job, but the worst kind of aholes are the ones who speak to you calmly, yet condescendingly (enunciating every other word), and coldly (hello! i CAN just put your file underneath the 43 other files i have! yes, so be nice to your underwriters/processors because they CAN do that.). well, so when this kind of an ahole hung up on me the other day - I had to call him back. "Mr. Layton - did you just hang up on me? I'm calling back just to make sure, because I do not remember you telling me you wanted to terminate the call so would you like to terminate the call or do i need to review the conditions of the loan with you again?" I totally expected another click but he actually just sighed, literally. maybe he was tired of talking like an ahole & that's why he hung up!

need a break

Thought i'd update real quick as i wait for my dinner date to arrive. ap is out of town for the weekend so my friend will be over to keep me company for the night. And seriously - all i've been thinking about is what we should eat for dinner. Sometimes, i think about dinner ideas all day! So indecisive....but I think I'll suggest The Counter tonight. Some sweet potato fries sound so good right now. We deserve the treat since we couldn't make it for wine tasting to SB with Caroline - I really wanted to go and see the newly engaged girl's glow!

With the hubs out of my hair (haha~!) for the day and sister at a wedding she's part of, I actually got more gocco work done without them. Usually they help me...well, ap just opens the door to let the ink air out when I ask, so scratch that - I actually got more work done without sis. She's the best support & help but sometimes, you know when you just work best alone? Today was that day. Gocco is so fun & amazing but the task can seem so daunting before I begin. But today, I got on a roll! Here are some cards I finished up and add'l little somethins' I made. I need to gocco personalized names on the boy/girl silhouette cards, but c's almost here so I wrapped it up for the day.

I actually wanted to put the wording horizontal but I couldn't do it with my small gocco space so I just did it to the side. I think it turned out better than expected though.

These Eiffel Tower cards are on Paper Source Luxe cards so there's more texture which really fits the print and its mood than on just plain smooth cardstock.

In case you didn't notice - those bicycles are tandem. Hence, "better together". Totally got the idea while listening to Jack Johnson! :)

I need to personalize these. How cute will that be! Can't wait.

These were made from scraps of paper I had leftover. I didn't want to just throw them away so they worked out perfectly! These will add such character to any gift!

Ulrich is in town this weekend so we'll probably spend tomorrow with him so I think my gocco can be put away for the weekend. Next up is to tackle invitations & calendar. Thank God I ran out of cardstock today because I would've started on the invitations and probably make c just sit and watch tv in the living room and forget about dinner. She just called and said she's passing Culver City - ahhh I'm about to pass out from hunger! I think I'll make myself a sandwich while I wait...otherwise, I don't even know if I'll make it to The Counter.