Day 12: So Much to Talk About

Oh man where do I start? First of all Merry Christmas Eve! Second I wanna give a shout out to two good friends of mine Kate Homet and Alex Jackson on their engagement! Woo!

Now lets talk about what has been going on this Winter Break for me. This past week has been craaazzyy and now that I think about it I don't have pictures to prove it oh well guess you will just have to take my word for it. Lets go in order shall we?

Last Sunday I attended a Christmas concert at my friend Roddy's (Roderick) church, Grace Community Church. I have not been it that big of a church, there must have been over a grand of people. Let me tell you I feel very awkward in those kinds of places and I don't understand how people can attend a church like that where they don't know everyone, but I guess it works for some. I'm grateful for my small church I like it and if though it has grown since I was a kid I still know all the people and that's what I like! The concert was good in my opinion my favorite part was when Mary Did You Know? was sung, the gentleman that sang it was crazy good! The program was almost 2 hours long but bearable for all that singing. Afterward we Sean, his family and I, went out to dinner with their friends to Poquito Mas, a bueno restaurant where I drank the biggest coke of my life, should have taken a picture of it. Then headed to Sean's house where I made an ornament with his momma its was easy and fun!

Monday was Roddy's Christmas party from 2pm to 11:30pm or so they said. Sean, his brother, and I arrived pretty much exactly at 2 and hung out and helped with last minute things before people started arriving. There were maybe close to 30 close friends there and plenty of things to eat. There were pigs in a blanket, chips and dip, these almonds covered in sesame seeds (they are addicting!) and bread bowl with cheese, potato balls and much more, then the main course was filled with chicken (which Sean's mom made), stew, rolls, pasta salad, and a different kind of salad. A little while after we ate Roddy's dad told all of us guests 2 Christmas stories which was then followed by carols being sung. After carols were sung we all gathered for a picture before some people headed home and then the rest who stayed a while longer watched a Muppet's Christmas Carol. After which I headed home with Sean.

Tuesday I headed home for a couple hours before going to Liz and Ismaels house to hangout for awhile. We went to Christmas Tree Lane and then Griffith Park to see if they had Christmas lights but they have been canceled for the past 2 years. After that I headed to Kate's house to help her bake some ginger bread cookies and hang out and talk. I got there about 9:30ish. 

Wednesday I left Kate's house abot mid day and hung out with Sean again before 7pm when Kate and I were going to get manicures. Kate picked me up from Sean's house at 7 and we went to the nail place but got there after they closed so we just headed back to her house to bake and paint our own nails. This night we made cake pops. If you would like to know how to make them they are available on her blog at http://wileye.blogspot.com/ after the cake was baked and her nails were painted Sean picked me up and we went out to dinner, a date :) to the Veggie Grill on Sunset Blvd. It is a vegan restaurant but tasted very good and is quite healthy. After we both headed back to Kate's to help her finish the cake pops. We finished a little before midnight and as Sean and I were walking to my car little did we know that someone was waiting for us to leave! Yes this is when Mr. Alex Jackson proposed to Kate. In a couple of days when things start slowing down you might be able to read about it on either ones blog, Kate's is above here is Alex's http://alexhasofficehours.blogspot.com/

Thursday was my first day sleeping at my own house and just relaxing. This day was very happy because of the news of the night before. Other than that not much happened.

Yesterday, Friday to be exact was Alex Jackson's ordination. It was awesome to see him recognized for something that God has called him to do. Refreshments were followed and family and friends mingled. Sean was able to come to the ordination also and after we went out for another date this time to the movies to see Mission Impossible, so many dates I love it! which was quite good I might add and got a 95 or so rating on rotten tomatoes. Overall Last night was a good night!

Today is Christmas Eve, and tonight at church there is a dinner at 5:30 and then a candle light service at 7 which I am singing for. Tomorrow is Christmas and church. It's going to be a busy weekend, but also a great one full of fun and great family times. I will be back on Monday to talk about how my Christmas was this year.

Til Next Time!

Have a Very Merry Christmas!!

Day 11: Fun Day!

Yesterday at church was fun, filled with good music and a great sermon by Fred. After church I went out with Kate, Alex, Mr and Mrs Martin (Caleb and Louisa), Fred, Kendra, Joe, and Kate's friend Nicole to Casa Garcia for lunch. Awesome nachos fyi! Then Kate and I had to return the vacuum we rented on Saturday to clean the Homework House. Oh I didn't mention that. So Kate wanted to surprise Alex with redecorating and giving the Homework House a makeover so we spent ALL day at church on Saturday doing just that. We painted, put curtains up, organized, and cleaned the carpets and couches. Later Alex came and saw what we did and was completely amazed. I don't have any of the pics because they are on Kate's camera, but I think it's better that she share them on her blog since it was HER surprise and I was just a helper :)

Moving on, after returning the vacuum we all went to Target to get a gift for the Gift exchange/white elephant we were having at the Christmas party at the Coker's in the evening. Kate and I decided to semi match...meaning that I wore a red shirt white scarf and she wore a white shirt red scarf. Love you Kate!

That evening the gift exchange went crazy, we all drew numbers and picked presents. I picked the BIG box there and inside was a penguin hat scarf? needless to say it was cute and I loved it, a little while later when someone else went they stole it from me :( so I picked another gift, it was one that Alex had bought at Target the Cheeseburger piggy bank. I was ok with that it because it would have gone to Adam or something, but luckily when it was my grandma's turn she took it from me so that gave me the chance to take my penguin scarf hat! From then on it was frozen since it was stolen 2 times! Booyah! That thing is so warm it's ridiculous. The evening was full of people talking, laughter, and just pure enjoyment which I will cherish.

Tile Next Time!

Here is my penguin hat thing isn't it adorable?

K so I lied, this is the only picture I have of Saturday, Alex's face. Aw look at Kate she's happy he's happy!

Day 10: It's beginning to look like Christmas!

This post might be mostly pictures because well, they pretty much sum up this post. I am finally home for the holidays which means I can now decorate with my family. The only part I don't like is that we usually have to move the furniture so we can fit the tree. Well we finally finished. Her are the pictures to prove it!

Til Next Time!

 Here is Adam putting the Angel on top of the tree, what a cutie pie!!

 Some more decorations, the rabbit in the middle is named Flossy and has been around for a LONG time!

 Gotta have the Nativity Scene and Santa Claus!

 Adam did the Nativity Scene all by himself as you can see below!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!!

Day 9: Trying Something New

For today's blog I am trying something new. A movie review, yes that is right I will be giving my input on a movie I saw this morning. I do apologize if this is not very good, I don't do this but Kate thought it would be a good idea.... (why Kate?)

Here it goes, the movie I saw this morning was called "A Christmas Wish" it is a Hallmark Movie Channel Movie. I know what people might think, but I enjoy those cheesy, romantic holiday movies although this was not one of them. This movie is about a step mother who's husband has deserted her with her two daughters and stepson, with no money, homeless, and all alone. She moves to a rural town and with the little money she has gets a motel to stay. She finds a job working night shifts in the small town diner which used to be famous for it's homemade root beers. The whole town pitches in and tries to get her a car and see if someone in town will rent out a house to her. (heart warming)A kind teenager watches the children for $8 a week and one night tells the kids a Christmas story. Now this is where it got very interesting. Going into this movie you would have never suspected it having a Christian edge to it, but it does in a way and this is one of the many reasons why I loved it. After the babysitter's story the older daughter draws a tree on the wall of their room and encourages her step-brother to believe and God. Particularly in one part the boy's biological father comes back and takes the boy away saddened the mother walks along the town thinking about the boy and how everything has been and eventually comes up to a gazebo decorated for Christmas which she falls down on her knees crying to God asking to keep her step-son because she cares about him and loves him. As she is walking back to her motel room she finds her step son, this really got the tears a rollin'. 

All in all this movie was grand. Totally would recommend it. Don't hate Hallmark Channel, give it a chance you might come across a good holiday movie like this one. I hope you enjoyed my movie review, I hope you could understand it haha

Til Next Time!

This was the best picture I could get, doesn't it look interesting?

Day 8: Home Again!

First of all I wanna thank SEAN for the Merry Christmas banner....He's so computer savvy! THANK YOU SWEETIE!! Today was my first whole day home from school and so far it has not been grand. Last night was a BIG no bueno in my book. Had a scorching headache and started crying because it wouldn't go away, long story short it went away and I didn't get to sleep til after 3am. Today I have been fine, didn't do much throughout the day and this evening I went to Family Night at my church. This was my first time since they had started it when I left for school at the end of the summer. It was good to be back , but it also felt weird. Kate had asked me to help her with the kids, so I did. I didn't know what lesson they were on, but overall I had fun! It's funny these kids are at least like 3 years younger( the ages range up to high school) but sometimes I feel like I'm not an adult helping out I mean sometimes I don't feel like I look the part. Do I look 20? most people say I don't and I mean its a good thing but also a bad thing. I don't know, maybe I'm just rambling on about nothing.

Sometimes I wish I had more freedom in my life. I realize that I have a lot of freedom except when it comes to being at home under my dads roof. When I'm at school I can go to and from anywhere I like whenever I would like. Here its another story, I have my own car and yet I can't go as I please. I know as in my previous post that parents will always be parents, but I can't go out past nine? I wish I had my own place sometimes so I can be my own person and still come home and go to church. I wish I had the ability to make my own decisions at home like I do at school. Well it's off to bed for me, hopefully I will write pretty much everyday since I have nothing to do now haha :p

Til Next Time!

Here I am drinking Hot Tea in my freeeezzing room! YUM!

Day 7ish: Catch Up

So right now I'm in the library waiting for a study session that was supposed to start at 10:30 but no one is here, so to pass the time I decided to catch up on writing my blog. This week has gone by so fast and so far I haven't gotten much studying done as I would have liked. I have two finals on monday and I'm stressed out. My head is killing me, I'm tired, hungry, and worried about my French final! My headache started last night while I was studying. I thought my sleeping it would be ok in the morning....nope still the same. UGH!

I have one last class today before finals and I really don't want to go. I don't want to study I just want to go to sleep. I want to go home and not worry about any of this. I want to be happy and joyful in the Christmas spirit but right now I can't be. I honestly don't know what else to write so I suppose i'll just end here.

Til Next Time!

Day 6: The Long Road Ahead

Today marks the first day of studying throughout my very long week for finals(Mine are all on Monday, bummer!) By this time next week I will be done and enjoying my Winter Break from school. While I'm writing this blog I'm listening to Christmas music on Pandora, this really gets me into the spirit of the holidays. Around this time of the year I feel that everything is perfect and that nothing can go wrong, I think that's the way the music makes me feel. I love it!

While I was walking to class today I was thinking about how I've changed over the years and how different things matter to me now when they didn't before. I was thinking that now I look forward to this year even more now than last year. It's not the presents that I look forward to, it's the small things that I cherish. Like picking on my brother and getting on my moms nerves, having dinner at home and especially waking up Sunday mornings to my dad's wonderful papas(potatoes), sausage and egg burritos, decorating the house, and even putting the lights on our house. When I used to walk home from school during these times and I knew that as soon as I walked in the door my mom would be decorating for Christmas, I would start to smell Christmas. The smell is basically rain combined with the smell of a Christmas tree. I love it and when I go home from school to this day I can still smell it. It warms my heart.

Year after year I look forward to this year more and more. I'm excited to go home and see all of my friends and family and spend 3 lovely weeks with them. I don't think this feeling will ever go away. Even as I grow older and eventually get married and have a family of my own I'm pretty sure I will be one of those parents that goes decorating crazy for Christmas, hopefully my kids feel the same way, if not then oh well more Christmas cheer for me! I decided that this year I would send out Christmas cards. My family has done them before, but not for awhile and so I decided that it would be a good way to show people that you are thinking of them at this time of year. This is great especially if they are currently going through things. I can't wait to mail them and receive the usual ones in the mail. Good times are yet to come!

Til Next Time!

This is my color changing penguin I bought at Target, it now resides on my desk giving my room some Christmas GLOW!

Day 5: Gratefulness (thankful)

So this is going to be my Thanksgiving post since its tomorrow and I might be in too much of a food coma to write anything :p

I love this time of year, not just for the food or the presents, but because I love being with my family and the people I love. I love the traditions my family and I have, the ones that I can remember growing up to. These traditions include for Thanksgiving, going to my grandma Nina's house for lunch with my dad's half of the family then over my house for dinner. I love helping my dad cook, that's right my dad is the cook in our family, the turkey and preparing everything especially making our homemade apple cider, it goes great with everything!

Like Thanksgiving, we have our Christmas traditions. They are gonna be a bit different this year since Christmas is on a Sunday. Usually what we do is Christmas Eve is our service at our local church, then we come home and bake cookies for what used to be Santa, but now I make them for anyone who wants them. Then Christmas morning we all wake up early and open presents. Since I'm older now and don't get much sleep at school I tend to be the last one to wake up. After presents we go to my grandma Esther's for Christmas breakfast and presents. Later that day we head to my aunt and uncles for Christmas dinner. Out of all of these things I have grown to love just being around my family and having a good time laughing and making memories. I remember when I was a kid all I would think about were the presents, but can you blame me? I was a kid, nothing was better than getting toys. 

I hope to make my own traditions when I have a family of my own and look forward to their company. It's at this time that I say I am very thankful for my family and friends and all of my loved ones. They make me who I am and I always look forward to seeing all of them. I'm a lucky person. I have a wonderful family, great friends, an AWESOME boyfriend!(Sean :D) and so many people that love and care about me. I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world. Go and hug someone special to you and tell them how thankful you are to have them in your life!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Til Next Time!

This is my wonderful family that I cannot live without! This is from the summer of 08

Day 4: The Future

Yesterday my AWESOME boyfriend and I went to my church back home and surprised everyone...well except for one person Kendra. I had to tell someone so I told her, but the best part was that I succeeded! I loved seeing everyone so happy, my grandma, my aunt, and my mom. My mom especially, she looked like she was going to cry. The thing was that I had talked to her 2 days before on the phone saying that I would be home the night before Thanksgiving. This brought joy to my heart.

Like the title says this blog is about the future. I think about the future A LOT, probably more than most people. I worry how it will turn out, whether it will be good or bad, how I will be in the future and how my life will be. When my boyfriend found out ow much I think about the future, he seemed to get frustrated. He said I worry too much about the things that haven't even happened yet. I know it's true, but I can't seem to get away from that, it's just who I am. I worry so much that I stress out and it doesn't seem like its something I can control.....willingly.

I guess this is something I should really work on though there are some things I love thinking about! Being a girl and all I tend to think about my wedding and even the proposal, I even have my dress picked out already! An off the shoulder dress, backside corset with pickups. I think about having a family and doing all of the motherly/parental things you know? That's not so bad right?

Til Next Time!

ONLY 2 MORE DAYS TIL I GO HOME FOR THANKSGIVING!!!!

Here is the dress I've pictured for the longest time :D