the cup of life

it was a cold day. the sun wanted to shine (it was stuck between clouds). i told myself to get up anyway. i smelled coffee. i love that smell (my sister reminded me that i did). she told me to have a cup. it's been too long and i'm afraid my teeth will yellow again, i said. she told me to just trust my crest white strips and sip. so i did. i made my way to my computer, took another sip, and set my cup down. browse ebay, she persuaded. i browsed. there's a lot of of inventory here. how can i just pick one? so i put several interesting pieces into my "items i'm watching" bin. hey, this one looks promising. i made my way to the link titled "place bid." this is a big commitment.............. my coffee is getting cold. it's really good and if i let it get cold i'll have to throw it out. so i take a gulp and watch the few coffee grounds that escaped the filter flow toward my lips. should i drink all of it? even if this isn't the perfect cup? it's too good... what the hell. drink it all. i put my cup down and decide not to place my bid. instead, i'm going to "buy it now." (i don't want to risk being outbid) click. wait for it. wait for it. I WON! (metaphorically speaking) 11:11

oh yes, I DID!!! (and it's about time)

and it feels sooooo good!!

word of the day. whirlwind.

Hello! My name is Mrs. Amanda Ortiz.

It's been 15 days since last posting and my life has literally changed in a huge way.

I'M MARRIED!!

Anyway, I will post a few pictures and take you through some of the night's events (howwwwllllll) when my photographer gets some editing done for me.

But ok, to sum it up in less than a handful of words for those of you that can't wait... (wait, is anyone even out there?)

happy, loved, thrilled, beautiful, fun, family, friends (hell, we're all family)..

Life is good. Life is living.

post script. my eye IS still twitching.

5 days? 5 DAYS!

In 5 days, yes, 5 days, I'm getting married!! I am so excited. I am feeling calm and ready. I'm sure the nerves will hit, and I'll need someone to hold my hair when they do. HA!

let the countdown begin...

showering the bride with lots o' love

I am getting married in 25 days! There have been so many wonderful things that I've experienced in the last 5 months since Marcos and I became engaged. I am also really happy with our decision to have a shorter engagement. Planning a wedding is a lot of work and I can't imagine it dragging out another year or so. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends that I do. Marcos' family had a shower for me on March 14th and my family and friends had a shower for me on March 29th. They were both adorable and fun and so much more than I could have ever expected. We received so many wonderful gifts and I can't wait to be the stepford wife I've always dreamed of being and be a hostess to all of our family and friends. Here are some pictures from both of my bridal showers. Thank you to all who helped in making these some of my fondest memories!!!

Shower #1


Shower #2

Open House 2009

My second Open House was a success! I had a great parent turn-out and some family and friends showed up, too!! This year I taught 5th grade, so my classroom had a completely different feel than it did last year.

Here is a general view of my classroom. I have 32 students and it can get crowded!!!


I loved this project! In the first picture, we made a draft of our city and focused on parallel, perpendicular, and intersecting lines. In the second picture, we made our city 3-dimensional come to life and focused on shapes as well. The students did this all by themselves. Cool huh?


Of course I had to do silhouettes!

Colonial flags.

Loved this art project! It added so
much color to our classroom.

good friends.

Walk MS 2009

Thank you for walking on behalf of my mom and dad!!

bridal bliss and a lemon.

There are aspects of planning a wedding that are totally cool...

To mention a few: food tasting, cake tasting, shopping online (EBAY should be one of my bridesmaids, we've become such good friends), registering and receiving gifts, etc...

I had my first shower last Saturday with Marcos' side of the family and it was awesome. Marcos' tia, the aunt Lisa, was the planner and thought of everything and really made me feel so special.

However, there are also aspects of planning a wedding that are totally uncool... (but the cool stuff totally outweighs the uncool stuff, so it's not even worth mentioning).

Anyway, can't wait to be married. Hopefully, life gives me lemonade!!

jax christie

7 weeks


8 weeks


12 weeks


16 weeks


20 weeks


Jax is by far the most fun, energetic, sweet, smart dog that I have ever been around. She took a whole 5 months to "potty train, " but has learned the commands sit, down, stay, roll over, stick em' up, and play dead aka "bang."

She loves Marcos and I and recognizes us both as her masters. We have so much fun with her and can't wait for her to have some babies so we can share our love of her with someone that wants a puppy, too.

the walk stars

My dad. generous, loving, strong-minded, compassionate, outrageous, sensitive, faithful.

My mom. beautiful, unselfish, nurturing, thoughtful, delicate, forgiving, trustworthy.

My dad. a husband, a father, a dancer, a runner, a man of many trades.

My mom. a wife, a mother, a dreamer, a traveler, a woman that could fly.

My dad. my hero.

My mom. my inspiration.

My dad. living with Multiple Sclerosis for 25 years.

My mom. living with Multiple Sclerosis for 24 years.

2009 Walk MS

Click here to donate

Thank you to Kimberly who is walking on behalf of my beautiful parents.

peep these

Ladies in the wedding party, here are the shoes I found at Target. They run for $22.99 on Target.com, but I am hoping to find them in store for a better cost.

I read the customer reviews... "I bought these shoes after purchasing a brown dress to wear to a formal dinner. These shoes look great on and are very comfortable! I normally wear a size 8 1/2 and my feet fit snuggly into a 7 1/2. Order at least a half a size smaller than normal!"

I'm going to keep looking, but what do you think of these??

2 months from today...

I will become mrs. amanda ortiz.

I landed right back where I started from...

Fox Landing (Camp Fox), Catalina

snorkeling, kayaking, rock climbing, oh my! (oh, and squid dissection, too)

My fifth graders and I had a great time; a real educational learning experience. It brought back so many good memories from my childhood. The whole trip was so nostalgic for me. I could picture myself, my mom, and my sisters way back in the "good ol' days." I climbed bible peak, the same path I climbed 20 years ago. Walked through the same cabins I slept in as a child. Ate in the same "mess hall..." (I could go on and on).

I came home tired but am now, more than ever, excited for the wedding. My bridemaids were busy with dress shopping and found this
I love it!

My bff and bridesmaid, Kim, (with help from her sister and hubby) made my bridal shower invitations and did a gorgeous job! I absolutely adore them!

Ring a ding ding ding dong (my head's ringin')

**update** problem solved! =)

In 2 months and 13 days (yes, that soon) I will be exchanging vows with Marcos. The marriage thing... a piece of cake (ha.) but the wedding budgeting thing... a pain. I am trying to do this wedding on a friendly budget but I want to invite more people than I can. So, I spend moments racking my brain on who can be nixed from my list. Some really dear people, that I would love to have there, aren't making the cut. Do I nix chair covers and a DJ or invite my old dance teacher and possibly even a friend from high school that I don't really keep in contact with anymore?

babies babies babies!!!

In the last week I've had the opportunity to photograph my favorite species on earth... babies.


My nephew, Brody, is so cute and I want to photograph him so badly but he hates my camera!

Kaylee, Brody's friend, is a doll. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I hope mine look just like her.

Brady (not to be confused with Brody) is the newest addition to my huge family. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs. 15oz., he's a keeper!!

dear diary (fellow bloggers?)

I have written three posts. They all seem silly. So I keep clicking delete. I have no idea where this blog is going or its purpose. I guess I want it to be some sort of time capsule, a sort of scrapbook to my life and the one I'm creating with Marcos.

p.s. this is no good for my o.c.d.