The 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Many of you might remember this shot- but for others that are new readers to my blog- this was taken 5 years ago with my sister Rose, in front of my house on Sycamore Street in New Orleans. And I only lived there for about 3 weeks. (More pictures from Hurricane Katrina here). 

There are many images I have in my head from Katrina, like the one above- and I just can't believe that 5 years have gone by since this horrific disaster. (More images here.) 

It saddens me that I have been gone from a city I truly love for that long- but I am also very happy about how far I've come since then and where I am presently.  I don't want to focus too much on the images of the past, but I do want to take today and thank God that I am alive and that I still have all of my family and friends. I am very lucky to have survived those days and I think God was testing me to see how strong I really am.

I also wanted to take a minute and say thank you- you all know who you are. Thank you for being in my life, for loving me and for helping me through all these tough times.

In honor of Jeff's dad

We went to the beach today in honor of Thomas Lovin. You are truly missed.

Happy 30th Birthday Roger!

Roger, happy birthday brother! Cheers to you and wish I was there celebrating your special day with you. I really wish we could see each more often but maybe we can come up to San Fran for Labor Day weekend and really celebrate with you. I also just wanted to say thank you for being such a great brother and always helping me out when I need you :) You are the best! Have a great day today with the family in Pensacola and we will skype you a little bit later today. We love you so much!

Pepere's 84th Birthday

Here are some pictures of the party we had for Jeff's grandfathers 84th birthday!

It was the first time we had Jeff's family over to our house... it was great having everyone over and Pepere had a lot of fun on his bday! It was really nice that Rose and Ron were able to come over too!

Newport Beach

Date night. Yay.

Laguna beach!

It's so beautiful today! Happy Saturday!

Ethan n chops last day of swimming lessons!

Happy Birthday Rancis!

It was Rancis 3rd birthday party this past Sat night and like always, they had a ton of people over with lots of great food!

It was fun to see all the cousins there... we missed the rest of you guys out there! We wish you were here celebrating with us.

They even had a bounce house in the back! That was MY favorite part! Ha...

But I think all the kiddos really loved the pinata! And man- the kids were like vultures grabbing for the candy! Rex and Antonette--- another great party! Thanks for everything! See the rest of the photos here!

Getting ready for Pepere's 84th birthday

SMARTY Reunion Dinner

Here are some girls from my foundation course that we took earlier this year.

This time, Kala hosted the dinner at her beautiful home in Venice! It totally reminded me of a house in New Orleans with its wood floors, shot gun style and it had a lot of character.

Thanks for the amazing Indian food and the delicious desert! Can't wait to see you guys at Diamante's house in a couple of months!

Thanks daddy!

Dad, jeff's mom and aunt came over for dinner and we cooked up your food! It was sooooo delicious! Aunt Joann said it was the best dinner she has ever had! Thank you sooo much. We miss and love you and mom!

Meeting Jeff's Mom!

Jeff's mom just landed yesterday from Australia and will be in the states for a few months! Although we have skyped a few times, this was the first time meeting her in person. She is great- so funny and looking forward to getting to know her better while she is here!

SMARTY: Peer 2 Peer Leader

As you might have noticed from past blog posts, I am a SMARTY. SMARTY is a networking group of entrepreneurial women and its one of the most beneficial groups I have ever joined. Professionally, mentally and socially. It's a very dynamic group of independent women and love having a place to go (whether in person or on our message boards) to vent, get inspired or just have some fun.

See here for more info about SMARTY.

Well, I was just notified that I was chosen, along with 14 other women, to be a Peer to Peer leader. You can read a little bit about what this is all about but basically we had to apply and be picked to represent our industry and hold seminars for the SMARTY community and teach them about our field. For me, this will sharpen my presentation skills and material- but give me great exposure within the SMARTY group and hopefully turn this into business! Just thought I would share this with you... more to come as I teach my first workshop.

Be Kind. Please take action.

Please support the KIND CAMPAIGN, which helps raise awareness of female bullying. Please watch this powerful clip that will tell you more about what this campaign is all about.
After you are done, PLEASE VOTE for Kind Campaign in the Pepsi Refresh Grant Cycle this month! You can vote twice a day every day for the month of August-once from your computer and once from your phone! Click on this link to vote online AND Text 101818 to Pepsi (73774) to vote by phone!!Thanks to everyone in advance and best of luck Molly and Lauren!

Scorpion Harbor : Santa Cruz Island

Here is a video of us kayaking around Scorpion Harbor this past weekend. The water was so beautiful... enjoy! More pics to come.