What Memories do you have with me?

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

The Phantom!!!!

Eric and I went to see The Phantom of the Opera last Saturday!!! We have been looking forward to it for some time and finally, July19th came around! YAY!!!

I LOVE The Phantom!!!! It is an incredible experience to see on stage. I am always in awe at the notes these people can hit! And every time I hear the theme song Daaaah Dun Dun.. dun dun... daah.... dun dun!!! I get chills! The score is just amazing! Soo inspired!
























I saw Phantom for the first time when I was 12 and loved it!!!I have been dying to go back ever since.

It is my personal opinion that everyone should see it at least once. So when I found out that Eric hadn't seen it before I was determined that the next time it was here in San Diego we would see it together!
Needless to say he enjoyed it very much!!!

I had to get some pictures off the internet because they would not allow us to take pictures inside the theater.





















The Phantom singing to/hypnotizing Christine !


















Isn't the Phantoms lier incredible?
I love this scene
















The Phantom coupled with Lord of the Rings is what got me interested in set design as a profession! Isn't it incredible!?

















The costumes are sooo great too! Especially in the Masquerade scene!!!

And last but certainly not least... The Famous Chandelier!!!!!!

FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT SEEN THIS. IT IS A MUST!!!
(Get good seats and it will be well worth the money!)

My Absolute Favorite Recipe!

I have to share this recipe! It is hands down my favorite thing to make when entertaining because is is relatively easy, inexpensive and sooo impressive! Just looking at it makes my mouth water and when you take that first bite... trust me you will feel like a professional chef! SOOOO GOOD!

Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes, and Basil

Ingredients

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped leek (you can find it at sprouts)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice (you can find it at sprouts)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
5 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced

Preparation

Place vinegar in a small, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until slightly syrupy and reduced to 1 tablespoon (about 4 minutes). Set aside.

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes, basil, and cheese. Place about 1 cup risotto into each of 6 shallow serving bowls; drizzle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon balsamic syrup and 1/2 teaspoon oil.

Yield

6 servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 378(29% from fat); FAT 12.1g (sat 5.2g,mono 4.1g,poly 1g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 178mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51.6g; SODIUM 777mg; PROTEIN 13.2g; FIBER 1.6g

Haircut!

I told Eric that for my birthday all I wanted was a really good haircut. Highlights and all! My hair was just getting too long for me to manage. I used a ton of conditioner and still it took forever to brush only for me to sweep it up into a nice long ponytail for my girls to pull! So I figured it was time! My hair grows really fast. I like to grow it out long and then every couple years chop it and donate it to locks of love. It's a really great feeling to walk away knowing that 12 - 13 inches of hair isn't just going to end up in the trash! I was surprised this time though that so many people were trying to persuade me to keep it! I think that everyone else was more attatched to my long hair than me. Anyways! I totally love the huge change.

The Fourth of July!

The fourth of July was great! We had a nice little barbecue at the clubhouse in Lake San Marcos! I looked forward all week to dress my girls up in these little patriotic dresses and boy was it worth it! They pranced around like the were little princesses.





We invited a few friends to join us including rambunctious little Ella, and her mom and dad! Isn't she cute!? She was darn hard to catch on camera. A lot of the pictures I have of her are blurry! That little girl never stops running!!!
















I love this picture. I don't know quite what she was thinking, but it looks something like "oh no...."





























Lucy going through this stage lately, where she loves to pretend like shes a dog. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when she started mimicking Baina's every move. It was soo cute though!


















We decided not to go see fireworks. We felt that Lucy and Evelyn would be more scared of them than anything (maybe next year!). So when we got home we put the girls to bed and snuggled in to watch 10,000 BC. Overall it was a pretty nice day!

Art work

I decided to create this blog not only to show off my gorgeous family but also to display some of my paintings. Showing them off really helps motivate me to keep at it. Painting can very difficult to do when you have a family. It's hard to find time to do it. And often when I do get some time for myself, I would much rather do something else... like sleep. Most of the time I paint at night when the girls are in bed. Eric and I will sit down to watch a movie. While he watches I listen and paint. Night time seems to be the time when I really get the most creative. In high school I would stay up 'til 1 or 2 in the morning just sketching. I think it's because it is so quiet and peaceful. It feels like I have the whole world to myself and I can finally see it for what it is, without all the distractions.

This is my most recent finished piece of work. I started it years ago, then walked away from it for awhile. I got painters block if you will. I just didn't know where to go with it. It's taken from a picture of Lucy when she was only a few weeks old. I wanted her room to be fairy themed, so I decided that it would be really neat if I did a picture of her as a fairy.

I like taking pictures of it unfinished so that I can look back and really see how much work has gone into it.















Overall I'm am pretty proud of it and extremely excited to finally hang it up in the girls room!