Catching Up...

Ok, So I know it's been a LONG time since I have last written!  Not only that, but a lot has happened in the past 4 months. So, in order to get everyone caught up, I've created the TOP 13 EVENTS in the last 4 months.

1. Early March brought a fun trip to The Art Institute with my bestie Sarah O, and the opportunity to reconnect with a college buddy, KD Blackburn. It was so great to see her and hear all about her life and projects! So fun!

2. Ruben's Mom and Nephew Joshua came to visit for a few days. The two drove to Chicago over Josh's spring break in mid March.  We hand a great time hanging out together.

Cooking together...

And hearing Ruben perform! It was a great week!!

3. Speaking of Performing, this past March Ruben performed electric bass for a classical Disney concert withe the New Philharmonic.  It was the first time I've ever seen him perform on electric, and I thought he was so cute!!

4. In late April I flew to Texas to be the Matron of Honor for my best friend, Ashley's wedding!  It was an awesome weekend in Horseshoe Bay celebrating Ashley & Chris!  These awesome photo's of the wedding are by Twinty Photography. You can see more images of the wedding at  http://www.twintyphotography.com/blog/?p=5666. 

It was an amazing time!!!

For my toast, I sang "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS. Ashley loved it and was so surprised. 

5. In May our good buddy and jazz bassist, Max, played his Senior Bass Recital.  He did such a great job! We are so proud of him!

6. In late May, my boss at Lyric Opera tells me that the Technical department is being reconfigured and that "unfortunately you're position is being eliminated."  He gave me until the end of June to collect my salary and to look for work. This was quite a heart breaking shock. To help me get over it, Ruben and I 

7. Traveled to Puerto Rico and stayed on the amazing island for a week! The Gonzalez Family had a family reunion, and we had an absolute blast!!  So much fun that it's too much to post here. I will post the details of our trip soon!  Until then, take a look at this stunning beach, and out lovely hotel just over our shoulders! Ahhh.....my life is good!!!

8. The day after we arrive home to Chicago, our buddy Alejos show's up for a week long Chi-town visit.  Our friends, Tina Lousie and Mike Happ, love Alejos and came over to join us for a home cooked meal that he prepared. We had a great time hanging with Alejos!!

But he wasn't here just for fun, Alejos and Ruben both taught at a summer orchestra camp for beginners.  Alejos taught for the first week, and Ruben taught his 8 new bassists for 2.5 weeks.

This is a great shot of the group working together!

9. The last week of June was my final week at Lyric. I have to admit I was so over whelmed with love by my friends and co-workers!  They threw me a surprise send off party, with at least 20 guests (from departments all over the company) there signing a big poster and wearing masks of my face!  All to let me know that I am loved, appreciated, and will be missed! It was amazing!!!

10. Writers' Theatre is performing an amazing rendition of "A Little Night Music" and they needed an ASM to cover for a few weeks in July, and LUCKY ME, I got the gig!  It's a great show and I'm so excited to be a part of it for a while. (A great distraction from un-employment!!)

11. The first few days of July brought 35th Jenson Family Reunion.  It has been an amazing month of reconnecting with family and figuring out what to do next in life.  One thing is very clear, our family loves us very much, and they are ready for us to live closer to them.  Hmmm...we'll see what happens. 

This weekend, was so awesome it's worth its own post, too. Stay tuned!

12. On top of this all I have coordinated 2 weddings with Five Grain Events at the Adler Planetarium, and had a wonderful time! Running events is just like running live theater, and I'm finding I'm pretty good at it!  This is a pic I took of the table decor of Brooke & John's wedding on May 26.

I have more weddings planned through out the wedding season, one a month for the next 3 months. :) Thank God my free lance work is keeping me busy and tying me over until I'm able to attain full time work.

13. On July 3, Ruben and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary!  I feel so blessed to married to such a lovely man, who so obviously loves me too!!

As you can see it's been a full and eventful few months.  I'm not sure where we will go from here, but I have hope in the possibilities, and am grateful and feel blessed!!

Ruben's Birthday and the Rest of January

Sunday, January 15th, my husband Ruben celebrated his birthday.  I planned a "suprise" birthday party for him that turned out so fun!  He knew that we were having friends over to celebrate, but I didn't tell him who. So, everytime he went to the door, he had a surprise as to who came to celebrate his birthday.  It was so great!!

I made Puerto Rican food including; Rice with Gandules, Empanadas, and Fried Plantane.

We had 9 of Ruben's friends come over for dinner!  We had to extend the table and pull out every chair we had in the house.

Since Ruben had been preparing for his audition, the group wanted to hear some of his music, so Ruben pulled out the bass and played a bit for us.  It was so great to have such love and support from our friends for Ruben's birthday and his career!  We are blessed with great friends!

On January 20th Ruben head South for his audition in San Antonio, which was on January 24th.  The audition went great, everytime he auditions it gets better!  Unfortunatly, they didn't offer Ruben the job. We're not fretting, though, we know that God has plans for us, and we are patient. :)

Ruben ended up taking the long way home, and stayed with his Mom a few days before heading back to Chicago.  All together, Ruben's trip was 10 days long. Felt like forever to me!

While he was gone, I celebrated the up coming baby of my friend and Five Grain Event owner, Joan Cinquegrani.  Her baby is due February 29th and I was lucky to be invited to a baby shower planned by some good friends of hers.  For her shower I made her some handmade gifts.

I made my very first sock baby (kitty) which turned out so cute!  I also made 2 baby bibs, a burping clothe and baby hat.

It was sweet how excited she was!  Mine was the only gift with handmade items.

Here are the girls of Five Grain Events! Me, Joan, Lauren, and Sara.

A LOT has been going on at the opera house!!! 

On January 21, we opened our 6th opera of the season, Aida! It is absolutely stunning, and huge.  The triumphal scene has 216 people onstage!

I also got to see a pre-view performance of Writers' Theatre new play Hesperia.  It's a facinating play about love, religion and faith.  I really liked it, and hope to take Ruben to see it later in the run.

Opening at Lyric Opera THIS WEEKEND is

Which looks and sounds spectacular! 

But that's not all, we are also in rehearsal for our final opera of the season, Rinaldo. It's a crazy, busy time at work right now.  Gotta love the arts!

Ringing in the New Year

Wow! So far it's been a quick few days since the first of the year!! Ruben and I both worked New Years Eve, so it was a quiet celebration.  New Years Day brought a wonderful afternoon open house hosted by my good friend Jane.  It was so great to see her, meet her new beau and catch up with great friends, like Tina and her husband Mike.  Such a treat!

 Here is me, Jane and Tina

Here is Jane's beau, Tom, Jane, Tina and her husband Mike! I love these people!

The first week of the year brought gifts from my Momma!  Ruben and I had so much fun opening the lovely gifts she sent. Here's Ruben with his new tennis shoes. Thanks Mom!

The new year has also brought sweet moments like this one. Nikon loves to snuggle with his daddy, and have nap competitions with him. Nikon usually wins.

Besides napping, Ruben has been very busy preparing for his audition with San Antonio Symphony later this month.  Here he is going through the musical excerpts with fellow bassists, Brandon and Max.  They gave great feedback, and offered some suggestions on small fixes. Ruben is sounding so good!

I also think it's cute that Canon is listening with the guys as well. :)

The first Saturday of the year brought a Chicago neighborhood adventure with my best bud, Sarah O.  We met up in the neighborhood Andersonville, and walked around for about 3 hours. We went to different boutiques and shops in the neighborhood. 

This thrift shop was in an old movie theater. You can see the flaking old facade that was once a very cool building.

We also stopped at an awesome Cajun restaurant called Big Jones.  I had a delicious bowl of gumbo and Sarah got some yummy Cajun style pancakes. Delish!

The following Sunday, my friend Tina hosted a Stitch n Bitch knitting afternoon at her new house.  While we knit, Tina's husband was working on some project of his own. Doing what? I don't know exactly, but he looked cute in his protective gear! ;)

Last night, Chicago had it's first big snow storm of the winter season. Not having snow until January is a bit weird for Chicago, but never the less, the dogs enjoyed their romp in it last night.

It's a busy time at the opera house.  We jumped right back into the season on January 2. The Magic Flute is performing, and we started rehearsals for Aida and Showboat as well.  Only 2.5 months left of the season, but there's A LOT to do in that time period, so it's all hands on deck right now. 

I also booked my second wedding for 2012 with Five Grain Events, and I'm super excited!! 

So far, 2012 is looking really promising!

How's it going for you?