Remembering a Great Day

El and I went to Sprinkles after stopping by my work to take care of some business. It happens to be right down the street :( so dangerous and tempting.... what's your favorite? Unlike most people I ask my favorite is not Red Velvet. Don't hate me it's good but it's no strawberry, which is my favorite. 

Afterward El and I took our stale bread to the park and brought Annie with us. She enjoyed the smells as most beagles do. I enjoyed the peaceful time feeding the ducks. El enjoyed taking some pictures and here is one of them. I did the editing with my Christmas present from El and Santa Mac.

My Furry Sister

This is my best little buddy Annie. One of the blessings about staying with my family while El is away is that get to see her everyday. And this I how I find her every morning when I wake up she's waiting for me at the door. She's such a good snuggler and she gives the best puppy hugs. 

Yes We're Still Alive

Hi everyone. 

For those who don't know El is in Iraq and should return early June. This pic was taken on our trip to Chicago back in September. He is doing well but we both appreciate prayers. His safety, our marriage during this time of separation. He's in good spirits and has made some good friends. His request for his next care package was for me to vacuum seal my Grandma's Pecan Pie and ship it to him. Too cute!!! Huh!

As for me I'm doing well. Still working at Hoag. I start school next week at CSULB just one day a week. I'm just taking the basic masters courses for right now, just one very full day a week. I'm taking Adv Pathophysiology, Adv Pharmacology, Human Behavior/Psychosocial Issues, and Health Management and Economics. If I finish the program I'm in I'll be a nurse practitioner however I'm just planning on taking it one semester at a time. We'll see how this one goes. 

I hope to see everyone I haven't seen in awhile like Mikey P at Genyem's  Big 30th B-day party on Sat. I hope I can go I was planning on it but I got in a car accident on Wed night and my car's in the shop so I'm not sure how I'm going to get there. I just praise God for his protection it happened on the 605S in the fast lane and the guy that hit me was going about 85 mph. My car needs to be realigned, and some other things need to be replaced but the damage is minimal. I walked away with only a bit of soreness. 

heather

she misses ele!!!

I had such a great day with friends and family for my birthday bbq. Heather was very kind and generous in getting me a gas grill for my present. It was funny because she was going to surprise me but then I asked her if we could get one. It is so cool that we were on the same page. I just love her so much. Anyways here are some pictures from that day...





Heather's mom did a great job decorating the tables in the backyard...





...so much great food prepared...and even Heather's dad got in the action...



...friends relaxing...



friends in the making...



"...I can't wait till someone pinches my cheek!"


...I LOVE pies! I was treated to pecan, french apple, and banana creme pies...SOOOOOO GOOD!


We improvised and decided to use the pie as my birthday cake...


It tastes better that it looks!


Overall, I had a great day. Friends and family were great reminders of God's grace & goodness in my life. There are so many things I can look back to the past 25 years...He is to good to me and I continue to praise Him. I would have never imagined that I would be married to a loving wife and have supportive family and friends. God is too good!

RECAP!!!!

Um okay so obviously I'm really not the best blogger. Maybe I'll be a good updater. Huh? What do you think?

Okay so there is no way I can go back and get into all of the things we've been up to since our last post i.e. our honeymoon (um okay I said it... not so good at this blogging thing yet)
1. We got married (still waiting for the pics) yeah I know having a hard time being patient about I've seen them I just don't have them
2. Honeymoon we blogged a little about Belize was wonderful we enjoyed just spending time together but we were also able to share our adventurous side going hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking.
3. Christmas was a blur...
4. Back to work
5. Ele works 5 am to 6pm (mon-fri) ... I work 7 pm to 7:30 am (3 days/week) It can be hard we're praying about making some changes.
6. We took a lovely trip up the coast Hwy 1 for our first married Valentines day! Made stops in Santa Barbra, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterrey and Santa Cruz (yes I have pics but hey this is just an update)
7. My cousin Kara who is one year older than I has Cancer for those who don't already know. She found out after having some simple knee pain walking up stairs. Her daughter was 9 months when she found out. She's gone through chemo and removal of her femur and knee joint, then more chemo with still no effect on the cancer. I just found out this weekend she's responding to this last dose of chemo. Praise God!!!
8. Sad news is that her dad looks like he will need a heart transplant.
9. My Grandma was hospitalized this weekend for heart problems, things I deal with everyday at work but I might be making a trip up there this weekend to help her get situated with all of the new medications and M.D. appointments.
10. Looks like Ele might be making Sergeant with the next cutting score!Yeah go Ele! It's a big deal in Marine land.
11. Ele had a b-day April 3rd. He's a quarter of a century now! What an old fart :) We had a bbq it was fun.
12. I signed up for a Neonatal resuscitation course through the hospital. Praying about switching focuses to Labor and Delivery :)
13. Considering going back to school for my Master's Degree this fall. Need to take the GRE and decide really soon :(
14. And last but definitely not least Ele and I have been married 4 months as of April 15. Yahoo! Love that man.

Our Day at the mayan ruins!

Pronounced Choo= non- nu- witch! So beautiful. The drive from where we were staying was about an hour away. Our tour van comes the side of the river and our guide Gabe says, "Okay get out." A little bewildered having no idea what to do we walk down and see this wooden raft with a cable attached to it coming toward us.

Just as we begin to noticed the one man standing on the raft working HARD to crank it toward us our guide drives our van down the hill on to this little raft. I'm thinking ... is that sturdy enough and then he yells hop on. :(

Adventuresome Ele, who later today will eat a live termite simply because the guide says it's good protein, hops right aboard and sticks his hand out like come on' honey jump. In the spirit of adventure I did and went right ahead without concern for safety drowning or things such as weight capacities since we are on this thing with a van and about 30 people. Again: One man hand cable crank... he must have some guns in those sleeves.

We get across the river pheew.... and get back in the van, drive a little way up the mountain and then begin to hike. Its absolutely beautiful and lush and green. I'm thinking I don't see any huge ruins, little beaten down used to be something here and there and then BAM! Turn the corner and there it is... now the climbing begins.



According to our guide Mayans were very short. i.e. like Ele's Lola and Armenia would be giants. These ruins have steep stairs to climb so that anyone who would ever climb them would have to go on hands an knees before the gods and the Shamans.

It's steep with no rails El says, "go on ahead honey I want to get a good picture of you up there." :0 aaaahhhhhh uh gee thanks for the nomination of going first sweetheart. I climb. He snaps a few pics and then joins me.
We made it all the way to the top. Wahoo! Its so beautiful from up there you can see the other ruins in the distance. According to our guide this was the central communication tower where they would take shiny rocks or gold and face them into the sun to create a glare and send light messages to the other Mayan temples.

And then now to get down....