26 Days

Well, I survived Valentine's Day sans Lake, it was tough, but I really do have great friends & an awesome brother, sister in law & god daughter! I spent the weekend in Little Rock with my brother's family & I even got to babysit little Maryn on Saturday night so that my brother & sister in law could go out for Valentine's Day. Last night I got back from Little Rock & went to have dinner with some of my best friends at Brasserie Pavil. A very yummy french restaurant here in SA, it was so good! We had a super fun time & I'm convinced that we had way more fun than anyone else there! haha.


Lake is doing well in India, I'll see him in 26 days, which can't get here soon enough! I leave on March 12th at 1:15 p.m. Lake & I are planning on going to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal & maybe to Singapore right before I come back on the 20th. The next big feet that we need to make it over is being away from each other on March 1st, which is our 2 year anniversary. I guess we'll just celebrate Valentine's Day, our anniversary, & Lake's birthday (March 24th) all during the week while I'm there, that'll be fun! :o)


As far as my fashion challenge is going, it's been really fun actually! I'm enjoying trying to figure out new ways to put stuff together, so definitely enjoying being creative! I've only run across one top that I couldn't figure out & plus I thought it was a little too tight on me, so yeah, of course I'm only one week in, so we'll see how it continues to go.......





Maryn at The Flying Fish after landing in Little Rock





me, Shaunda, Rachel, Camp, Janine, & Michelle at Brasserie Pavil for our Valentine's Night Dinner

The Great Fashion Challenge...

so Lake's gone & I'm really sad & it's been really hard, so I'm not going to focus my blog on that. All I'll say is that we're both missing each other & we both can't wait till I go visit on March 12th, I'll see him in 32 days! :o) He's doing well & enjoying his adventure & I'm so happy that he's having a good time.

Here's a link to some of his pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lake.Ellis.III

So, I left work early today b/c I was feeling awful, migraine, coupled with stomach ache, along with an itchy throat left me exhausted & just not feeling well, at all!!! I left after my 3rd period class was over, so around 11:40, I stopped at Target to get a heating pad & then got a sandwich at Cosi & came home to rest. I tried to nap, but it wasn't really happening, so I decided to go through my closet & get rid of old stuff that I don't wear anymore & donate to Goodwill. While I was going through my stuff, I kept hearing Lake in the back of my head saying you always go shopping, you have so much stuff! I was looking at my closet & there's lots of stuff that I love & I know why I bought it, but I just don't wear it too often....so...here's my plan.......

I'm going to go through my closet, one top at a time & make an outfit out of it, if I can't make an outfit "work" then I'm giving the top to Goodwill for someone else to fall in love with! :o) I figure, it's a win win, someone gets a new top for an awesome price & I have more room in my closet......for more stuff! haha j/k, well, sorta ;o)

Well, I'm off to build my first outfit for work tomorrow. I figure I'll also boost my creativity, which is also fun! So that's what I'm doing while Lake is gone......along with working out, watching my shows, keeping the house clean, cooking, & hanging out with the girls! :o)

Little Rock & Maryn time this weekend!

Happy Valentine's Week everyone!

2010!!

Well, it's a new year. It's so hard to believe that we're in a new decade & that 10 years ago I was a senior in high school & now I'm a teacher in high school....weird! We've been back in school now for almost a month & the next major break will be for Spring Break, so that's kinda tough, but oh well!

Another HUGE piece of news is that Lake is leaving tomorrow for Chennai, India. He'll be there for 3 months, so he'll be back on April 29th. We won't go for 3 months straight without seeing each other though, I'm going to India for my Spring Break, I leave on Friday, March 12th, so we'll be apart for 42 days. I'm really sad about it, but I'm looking at the positive & I'm planning on staying really busy at the house & having lots of time with my besties!

I also really want to take advantage of this time to get some serious exercise time in, I just ran this afternoon for the 1st time in a couple of weeks & it was tough, it baffles me that I can run 13.1 miles just 3 weeks ago & today I struggled with 2 miles....awesome!! bleh! Oh well, I'm planning on staying on top of the running now & hopefully starting yoga again. :o)

I'm hoping it will also help me stay focused on something other than Lake being gone, that's the hope at least. I'm going to miss him so much, but we'll get through it! I've had incredible support from my friends & family & I'm so grateful for that, I think I have the best friends ever! :o)

Lake & I before we left for Orlando so I could run in the Walt Disneyworld 1/2 Marathon

me with my completely *awesome* bib number!!!!

Camp, Janine, Shaunda, & me at Janine's Twilight b-day party last weekend

"in character" :o)

Victoria, Jane, Bella, & Jessica

me & Lake at Janine's party

"Jessica & Mike"

The Break--The Middle

alright, so the break is halfway over today, booooo! Lake & I got back from the valley yesterday afternoon. We left on Tuesday & just hung out with my parents & my brother, sister in law & our niece, Maryn. Wednesday I went & had lunch with some of my friends, then that night we took my parents to eat at Kumori (sushi), I've missed that place so much! really good sushi! Thursday (Christmas Eve) we were just getting the house ready for everyone to come over that night for dinner & karaoke at my parent's house. We had lots of fun, my dad's family is HUGE! There was about 60 people at the house that night, so it was full of family, so it was great! Christmas Day we got up & went to church, then breakfast & then I think everyone took a nap after that. The day was pretty laid back & we all just hung out & watched movies. Friday night Lake & I went over to Amy's house & had lots of fun & laughs. :) We woke up early Saturday morning & headed out. Last night we went over to Lake's parents house & had our "Christmas" dinner with his parents & his grandparents.

Here are some pictures from our week:

me & Lily :)

me & Lake at Kumori for sushi dinner, yumm!

Maryn Lenore--4 months old :)

my family on Christmas Eve 2009

my hubby & I on Christmas Eve

Clara, me & Maryn on Christmas Eve

my big brother & I on Christmas Eve

my cousin Lizzy & I on Christmas Eve

my grandfather with his great-grandkids & their parents (my grandfathers' grandkids)

Rey, Evan, Demitri, Maryn, Olaya, Christian, Granpa, Anaya, Audra, Auliya, Anthony

all of the girl cousins on the Villarreal side

Back Row:

Nikki, DeeDee, Audra, Amy, Josalynn, Lizzy, Olaya, Denise

Front Row:

me, Granpa, Jessica, Clara

The Break--The Beginning

so my break has officially started! :) this week at school was pretty much a blur, it went by much faster than I'd thought it would, but that's always a nice thing.

Over the weekend Lake & I didn't do too much. Friday night we were at the Heberts to celebrate Kathleen's 29th b-day. Yesterday I ran 8 1/2 miles & Lake ran a bunch or errands around town. My run was awful but I did it & I can only hope that my next one will be better. I have less than 3 weeks until I run the Walt Disneyworld half marathon on Jan. 9th. I'm excited, but nervous all at the same time. Today we went to church, then we met my parents, my aunt & uncle, my aunt, Leah, Demitri & Maryn for lunch for my uncle's 50th birthday. I was so glad to see Maryn, the last time we saw her she was only 2 weeks, now she's 3 1/2 months! she's a different little person, so adorable!! here are pics from today

Baby Maryn & I--December 2009

mmmmmm.....orange!

taking pics with Maryn

with our gorgeous god daughter :)

not only did I get to see Maryn, I also got to see super sweetheart Keller! :) It was a great Sunday!!

Holiday Time

I can't believe it's already Dec. 12th, it's crazy how fast this school year is flying by! I feel like I was just starting getting my new classroom ready & now I'm talking to my students about their semester exams!

I'm really looking forward to the break, I have another full week of school coming up, but then we're done on Friday, thank goodness! On the 20th I'm having dinner with my old cheer girls, then on the 21st I'm doing Christmas/Wine Night with my girlfriends, I'm very excited about that! :) We leave for the valley on the 22nd & we FINALLY get to see my brother, sister in law, & MARYN!!! (our goddaughter), we can't wait. We haven't seen her since she was 2 1/2 weeks old! She's 3 1/2 months now! She's getting so big, we've skyped with her a couple of times, she's changing so much, every time we see her in pics & skype. I'm also really excited about Maryn & Lily's playdate that is coming up on the 23rd, they've never met, but I'm pretty sure they're are going to be long distance BFFs ;) The 24th we have Christmas Eve at my parents house, I love Christmas at my parents, it's always so fun! The 25th should be pretty low key & we come back to SA on the 26th & I think we're doing Christmas stuff with my in laws that day too, when we get back. So yeah, I have a busy couple of weeks ahead, but hopefully this week will go by really fast & the fun get started.

Anyway, kind of to update, I'm going to post pictures & hopefully everyone will get the idea of what Lake & I have been up to recently.

Lake & I in the Valley for my 10 year HS Reunion

Cristina, me & Amy before going to the Memorial HS Homecoming game--Sept. 09

Dawm, me & Wendy at Sushi Zushi after a JL recruiting meeting, they're both joining, very excited to have time in the league!! :)

Miss Caroline & me on Halloween, she's a lady bug & I'm Christmas Minnie!

Lake & I at the Kelly Clarkson concert in Cedar Park! :)

me, Laura, Shaunda, & Camp at Shaunda's 30th "80's" birthday party! Great Times!!

at the SA Rock n Roll Half Marathon Expo, I was very excited!!!

FINALLY finishing the race.....13.1 miles later, it was so hard, but I'm doing another one again in 4 weeks!!!

at HEB getting our grocery shop on. We then went to see Twilight & the midnight showing of New Moon...it was a fabulous evening!

me & Stacy at The Chicken after the A&M/Baylor Game

Joe, Lake, & Anthony, the 1st dudes on the scene :)

Christy, Dawn, & Misty at our "Thanksgiving with Friends" meal, the Sunday before Thanksgiving

Janine, Shaunda, Camp, & I....the hostesses!!! :)

Our 2009 Christmas Card Picture :)

My Family at the SA Botanical Gardens the day after Thanksgiving, so much fun hanging with my sister in law, brother in law, & niece for 4 days! YAY!!

Kelcey, Curt, me & Lake at Acenar for Kelcey's 29th birthday :)

Laura, me, Rachel, Camp, Shaunda, & Katherine at Acenar before The Nutcracker. Merry Christmas y'all!!

Houston Fun/Summer Fun/Birthday Fun!

So over the weekend we went to Houston to bid farewell to our friends Courtney & Evan, they are moving to Italy for the next 3 years due to the Air Force. We left San Antonio after our Saturday morning run. We ran 4 miles last Saturday & I think it went pretty well for me, it wasn't easy that's for sure, but I think I paced myself well & it went OK. :)

Anyway, after our run we took a nap, made breakfast, then got on the road. When we got to Houston we went over to Curt & Kelcey's house & hung out for the afternoon with friends which was nice to catch up! We then went to dinner & then out to a bar, it was fun. We of course had to have late night Whataburger after!!! Sunday we woke up & just went to eat lunch with Curt & Kelcey, super yummy tacos! Lake & I then drove back to San Antonio & just watched our Sunday night TV (The Next Food Network Star & Entourage).

Lake, Evan, & Curt at The Armadillo Palace

The Ellis' with The Epstein's

Courtney, Evan, Bo, & Steven at Whataburger--Late Night!

Monday morning I went with Kathleen & Caroline to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. I'd been there before for a concert, but I'd never actually looked around there, that place is HUGE! Anyway, it was lots of fun & I think Caroline had a great time. She enjoyed all the birds & noises that were around the plants, I think she enjoyed the animals more than the flowers! :) It was a fun morning, but quite HOT!!

Caroline admiring the waterfall

Kathleen explaining cactus to Caroline & not to touch them

she was having a conversation with the ducks. I was a little nervous with those ducks, but they were really nice.

peek-a-bo, we had a good time with this for a good 10 minutes....that's pretty good for a 2 year old!

Monday night was just Monday night TV, The Bachelorette & Weeds. OK, wasn't Chris Harrison just absolute hilarity on Monday night! This "Men Tell All" was the best one ever!! He was hosting it so well, giving attitude, being super sarcastic, i LOVED it!! Anyway, I'm really hoping Jillian picks Kiptyn, but I have a feeling she's going to pick Ed. Ed seems like a perfectly good guy, but those green swim trunks...eeeeesh! This isn't 1983 Ed! ; )

Tuesday I cleaned....that's about it.

Wednesday I had a Photoshop Training at Warren HS, it was a good workshop & I got some good information. I was able to see my friend Anabelle there, who is going to be teaching at Brandeis, so even though we won't be at the same school this year, we'll at least be in the same district. Wednesday night Lake & I went over to my in-laws house for a pre-birthday dinner. It was so fun. My in-laws put up signs all over their house for me, it's an Ellis thing, & I love it! Lake did that for me after I was in the valley for a few days & came back to SA, it was so sweet! While at my in-laws we got to talk to Lauren (our niece) & Kelley (my sister-in-law) on Skype, so that was super great!!!! Lauren showed me some of her cheerleading moves, it was so cute, I was so proud! Guess that's really it. We are having dinner tonight with friends at StoneWerks for my birthday & tomorrow we leave for Disneyworld. I already have our itinerary laid out, ahhhhhhhhh, I can't wait!