big bad biliary atresia

Last night I went to visit cutie pa-tootie Izzy Mae at the hospital. She has spent a lot of her life hanging out at CHOC already...On December 19, 2011 sweet Izzy Mae Sanchez was welcomed to the world by adoring parents (my dear friends) Carrie & Joe. Almost exactly 2 months later, Iz was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a devastating disease of the liver. BASICALLY the bile ducts that are supposed to drain bile from Izzy’s liver don’t work properly so bile remains in her liver and causes scarring and loss of liver tissue. Eventually her liver will not function properly and cirrhosis will occur leaving sweet Iz desperate for a liver transplant. She already had the Kasai procedure in hopes of prolonging the transplant, but the surgery was less successful than we would have hoped. Izzy celebrated 4 months of life just a few days ago and is already on the transplant list waiting for a new liver. Please join with me in praying for my dear friends and sweet Izzy as they endure this. They are surrounded by supportive family and friends and have not lost hope, but we need a miracle!

Awkward & Awesome

Awkward:

· Donating to a friend’s mission trip to Kenya and finding out my name and donation amount would be posted to her website. Sooo sorry I’m poor friend.

· Attempting to bend wire to make words. Seriously just looks like a bunch of jacked up wire. And I tried NUMEROUS times. I let that vision die.

· Walking into the office after a client meeting to have Yen find an XL sticker on my sweater…and my zipper down. YUP. HOT MESS.

Awesome:

· Champagne truffles. Seriously, SO good. My sweet co-worker Julie got me a box of 9 for my birthday. I have savored them. I am down to 2 and gonna be SO SAD when they’re gone gone gone.

· TAX RETURNS (not to be confused with doing taxes, or having to pay taxes)

· Getting to see Madeline AGAIN this weekend! WOOT!

· All my friends and the babies they are having! WOWZA! I think the count is up to 8. INSANE. When did I get old?

The Big Picture View...

There is no way to possibly catch up on all that has occurred in the last eight months, so let’s start with a post including the MAJOR highlights (and lots of photos – because let’s all be honest, THAT is why people read blogs).

FALL 2012

• Carrie Wright (one of my favorite roommates of all time) got married and became Mrs. Carrie Sanchez. It was SO MUCH FUN coordinating their wedding and getting to dream with her through the entire process. It was a TON of work, but for such a dear friend, it was DEFINITELY worth it! Almost our entire LifeGroup was there and we had a BLAST drinking and dancing the night away!

• I said goodbye to Ev. Free Fullerton and embarked on an entirely new career trajectory at AkinsParker Creative. AP has been quite the adventure thus far…but we’ll save THAT story for another post entirely.
• Life with roommates has been tumultuous for me. I have had good ones (iloveyou Rachel, Shalina, Carrie) and I have had some hard ones that I do not miss. In December I got two new roommates that have been such a joy. Rebecca MacKenzie and Sarah Oliver are now permanent fixtures in my home – we have gone on two roommate dates and have enjoyed many an evening together in front of the television. They are WONDERFUL women and it is a delight to share my home with them!
• Kevin and Jamie won free tickets to Disneyland on the radio and we surprised Madeline with a day at the Happiest Place on Earth.
• On December 19, 2011 Izzy Mae Sanchez was born to proud parents Joe & Carrie Sanchez. I got up early that morning and headed to the hospital with Starbucks in hand (for the daddy to be). I stood next to Carrie’s bed as she labored and realized what a TOTAL rockstar she is. Later that day she welcomed Izzy to the world and I literally could not WAIT to meet her. Izzy Mae has had quite the journey thus far…but again…we’ll save THAT for another post.
• Christmas with my entire family was relished as I watched with a heavy heart knowing it could potentially be our last Christmas together. My older brother Kevin is in nursing school at SDSU, but upon his graduation will be an Army RN and will be leaving for training and a new life as a military man. I honestly cannot envision coming home without Kevin, Jamie, and Madeline there. It is going to be terribly hard – so I soaked up the moments we had together and enjoyed them all.

Spring 2012

• In January, Emily came to visit from Missouri! It was GREAT getting to spend some time together (even though her stay wasn’t nearly long enough). Megan happened to be in town that weekend too, so we made it an adventure. Em and I had dinner at Bruxie’s Wiffle, shopped in Santa Monica, went to Disneyland, met up with World Changers friends for dinner at Downtown Diz, had breakfast at Old Vine Café, attempted to ride a hot air balloon, went to the Carlsbad outlets, had dinner at CrowBurger Kitchen, enjoyed hot tub club, and said goodbye all in less than 65 hours. It was a whirlwind, but it was WONDERFUL having her here!
• Baby fever has OFFICIALLY hit my group of friends. I remember when they all got married – now I’m watching as they all have babies! In early spring I went up to Visalia to celebrate with my dear friend from college Krista (Machado) Piper at her baby shower. I am also looking forward to celebrating friends: Kimie, Amber, Christina, Stacey, Krissy, Jenny, and Tessa who are all having babes in 2012.
• In March Megan, Rebecca and I jetsetted to San Francisco for girls weekend. I will probably do an entire post on THAT adventure at some point – but here are the highlights: breakfast for lunch at Dottie’s True Blue, shopping for vintage letters, a beautiful city view, dinner at Foreign Cinema (OH MY GOSH DELICIOUS!), hot tub club @ the hotel, breakfast at the ferry building, blue bottle coffee, seeing the iconic San Francisco bridge, a bike ride in the rain through Great Park (ps, did you know renting bikes is only $5 / hour, CRAZY CHEAP!), dinner at Zuni Café (seriously the food in San Fran RUINS you!), a quick stop at Gap and Anthropolie, and MORE COFFEE (all good trips with my girls include a LOT of coffee!). It was AMAZING to actually get away and enjoy some new scenery for a change. LOVED IT.
• I turned 27 on March 12. CRAZY. I officially feel old.

Other than Easter with my family that about brings us up to speed…at least from the big picture standpoint. It still feels GOOD to be back…I should have made this a priority a LOONG time ago!

catch ya later work week!

it has been POURING down rain all day in typically sunny southern california. like music to my soul i've listened to it beat against the pavement in perfect harmony with the swooning wind and bending trees. at lunch (when i was able to escape the desk that entrapped me) i sat by a window and soaked it in while reading one of the most beautifully written and poignant pieces of literature i've picked up in quite some time.it was magnificent. the perfect beginning to what promises to be a wonderful weekend. cheers to sleeping in, eating breakfast for dinner, crafting, and catching up with friends. catch ya later work week!

Hello Blog.

It has been months since I posted anything on this blog.

Let me assure you it is not because I have nothing to say.

I have been BUSY. Period. That is my only excuse.
Although technically I’m not sure I need an excuse since keeping a blog (for me at least) is purely a choice.

So TODAY I choose to start writing a blog again.

Because I have much to say.

And I want to remember it, even if you don’t want to hear it.

So I’m back. I don’t know if I’m better than ever, but I’m back.

HELLO BLOG.