The New Year is Approaching

Wow, it's 2:53AM and I'm still up--I can't sleep. I think I'm dreading going back to work on Wednesday and with the time off that I have had I've managed to seriously screw up my sleep schedule. I know I'll be feeling it when I can't sleep on Tuesday and then have to wake up at 5:20AM on Wednesday. Yeah, I bet you can't wait for that blog entry! HA! Well this Saturday Edgar and I went to my Tia's (Aunt) 60th Birthday party in Tustin. We had a jolly old time. The food was really good and it was awesome to listen to the Mariachi band they had performing for everyone. The bartender was this old, short guy with silver hair and I think he was working hard for tips because Edgar and I kept ordering mixed drinks and he was going heavy on the liquor! It was a great night especially spending it with my family. I also got to see my mom and her boyfriend in action on the dance floor. After so many years of being alone and being mis-treated it warmed my heart to see her so happy. I am so glad she has finally found someone who understands her, loves her and accepts me as a part of his family. The interesting thing is he has stepped so much into the "father" role for me that's its been eerily natural. If I mention I need new wiper blades he buys them for me, if I mention that an orange plastic ball melted on the exhaust pipe of my car he goes and takes it off for me (this actually did happen by the way and I don't know how). It felt weird at first, but now I know that if I ever needed anything he would be there in a heartbeat for me...I catch myself thinking, "wow, so this is what it would have been like to have a loving father growing up". Damn I missed out. But my mom tried as hard as she could...all I know is if I ever have children, it's not something I want them to miss out on. Okay, I went off on kind of a LONG tangent there...back to the original post. My Tia's 60th Birthday Party! Here are some photos:



My Mom & Richard




Edgar & I in front of the HUGE Christmas Tree




Family picture with my cousins--My mom's brother's sons and my mom's sister's daughters--we are missing my cousin Mike (my mom's sister's son) and my older brother Steven. Did you get all that?



My Uncle David and Richard in the background



My cousins holding Andrew, the youngest member of the family upside down,(my oldest cousin's son)



My Tia & Tio (Aunt & Uncle)--My Tia Martha in all of her Birthday glory in her hat. She was so worried it was going to mess up her hair :D

So, Edgar and I had a wonderful night with the family. I wonder what's in store for us next year? Geez, I can't believe it's already going to be 2008. :)

Picture Day

So last night Edgar took me to get my Christmas present. I know it's early, but I wanted it so bad. :) I got a digital camera--my first one. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. When I first met Edgar in 2003 he already had a digital camera so when I needed one, I just used his. Well flashback to the present time and this old digital camera well just wasn't cutting it for me anymore. It has been a great camera, it's a Canon PowerShot S110, 2.1MP and we had an 8MB compact flash card in the camera. Yes, I said 2.1MP and 8MB flash card I know holy cow huh? :) Anyway, I was so excited last night. We went to Circuit City and I got a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90. I LOVE it!! It's black, 8.1MP 3X optical Zoom and we bought a 2GB memory card for it. It's also very lightweight and so far, it's taken some great pictures. This morning Edgar and I decided to go to Souplantation for breakfast here are some pictures I took. :D


Here's my first attempt at an artsy fartsy shot of my orange juice.


Here's our little Zoomie posing for me. Please don't mind the pile of white clothes on the bed that I need to fold:


Some Christmas decorations in our apt:


Oh yeah, and my mom and I went to go pick up my dress at David's Bridal today. I was so excited~ :D The dress is so pretty...oooo I love that it's hanging in my mom's closet.


There are going to be A LOT of pictures posted on here from now on. I intend to use this thing as much as I can :) YAY I'm so happy. Thank you Beeboo!!!

It's Been a While

Man, it's been a LOOONG time since I last blogged. I've been super busy. Here is a list of things that have kept me occupied or that have occurred while I was not blogging:

1) Wedding plans have changed and although it has been a stressful time, I'm super happy with the direction we are going now. We have put the kibosh on the wedding plans for Maui, and are now going to have the wedding in La Jolla, CA at Cuvier Park. I couldn't be happier--it's cheap and gorgeous. I win dammit and it's still on the beach. :)

2) My mom and I went shopping for my Wedding Dress and I found it at the first store we went to. I never thought that would happen to me. I tend to be pretty damn indecisive when it comes to these things, but this time it wasn't like that. I tried on A LOT of dresses and then tried on this one and when I put it on I felt like a million bucks. Pictures do it no justice, it's simple and gorgeous and so very "me". Plus it was under $500 which is what I had originally wanted and that made me even happier. Why tempt myself with $1000.00 dresses when I can't afford them anyway? I'm trying to be realistic here ya know?

3) I got sick over Thanksgiving. Ugh I know...Edgar got sick and then I got sick. Having a cold sucks. The worst part is not being able to breathe at night because that in turn means I don't sleep no matter how tired I am.

4) Thanksgiving was great. We spent it with Edgar's family in Moreno Valley. We had some great food, great company and then we washed it all down with apple cider, cheesecake and a marathon of Ghost Hunters. Man, it was awesome.

5) Work has kept me on my toes. Students are currently registering for Winter Quarter and it's just been kind of rough. The other advisor that I work with just had surgery on her foot so she's been out. I thought it would be slowing down by now, but the students keep coming in and it seems like my patience is running thin. I keep trying to understand where they are coming from, but I can't. I don't remember being this clueless in college. Somedays I wonder how long I will be able to stay at this position.

I Got Tagged.

Thanks to the marvelous Angelina I have been tagged!! So here goes nothing :)

Four Jobs I Have Had in My Life
(1) Administrative Assistant @ my old high school
(2) Sales Associate @ Sam Goody
(3) Receptionist @ Printing in UC Berkeley
(4) Academic Advisor

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over
(1) "The Wedding Singer"
(2) "Idiocracy"
(3) "Ever After"
(4) "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Four TV Shows I Like to Watch
(1) The Women's Murder Club
(2) Intervention
(3) Heroes
(4) I Love New York

Four Places I Have Vacationed
(1) Italy
(2) Las Vegas
(3) Grand Canyon (long time ago)
(4) Can't think of any other place...

Four of My Favorite Dishes
(1) Potato tacos
(2) My mom's salsa
(3) Edgar's mom's veggie lasagna
(4) Pad Thai w/tofu

Four Websites I Visit Daily
(1) The Superficial.com
(2) OMG.yahoo.com
(3) The Knot
(4) MySpace

Four Places I Would Rather Be
(1) Home
(2) Guatemala
(3) Costa Rica
(4) Italy

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging
(1) Ms. Jackson
(2) Robyn
(3) I don't think many people read my blog...
(4) So yeah.

LIFE

Man...I feel like I have so much to write, but my thoughts are all in a jumble in my head. I haven't blogged in a bit so I feel compelled to update. To start, Edgar and I have continued with our working out and every time we go to the gym I feel good. I know he and I both have long ways to go in order to get into what we would consider our "prime" shape, but for once I'm willing to go the distance for it. I know I have not lost an enormous amount of weight, but when I can notice my clothes starting to fit me a little loose in places where they were tight, it keeps me wanting to work out even more. I have not felt this motivated in a looooong time and it makes me feel really good about myself.

There are days I have been consumed with feelings that I have never had before. I know, it's sounds melodramatic, but it's the truth. Lately, I have found myself feeling so content with life and it's a wonderful feeling. I have a wonderful fiancé who cares about me so much and about taking care of "us". I have a wonderful mother who has found a great person to share her life with and he's basically accepted me as another one of his daughters. I have a good job. I live in a great place and our cat loves us--hahaha...yes this all makes me so happy.

Tomorrow I am leaving to an Academic Advising Conference in Baltimore, MD. I am looking forward to learning many things about my career and gaining insight and ideas that I can directly apply to my advising skills. I am looking forward to going to see the East Coast for the first time ever and I am looking forward to seeing my cousin, his wife and their son who live over there. I am not however looking forward to being without my fiancé. I know I sound like a whiny little baby--but the beginning of our relationship was long distance and airports remind me of days that I had to say goodbye to him and the pain I used to feel knowing that I was not going to see him for a while. We've lived together now for almost 3 years and I see him everyday...but I never get tired of seeing him or feeling him or smelling him (yes he has a very distinct smell that I associate with "home"). I will miss him on this 5 day trip and wish that I could somehow take him with me. Too bad he doesn't fit in my suitcase. :D

Happy Friday.

I really don't have very much more to say than that--Happy Friday. I'm so glad the weekend is here...I feel like I need a ton of rest after this week at work...it was H E L L. =P

I'm in a MOOD!

Man, I must have woken up on the "bitchy" side of the bed this morning because I'm in a mood today. It could be that, or the fact that this morning I have gotten question after question from students and I feel as though they're all retarded--I have to say I'm dumbfounded. I'm far from genius, but I don't remember ever asking the questions that I'm getting now when I was in school. I went to college...they gave me a catalog...told me to hold on to it for 4 years and follow the requirements and read it--so I did! IMAGINE THAT. Are we facing the decline of civilization already? I mean as the years go by and I see new students come in quarter after quarter it seems as though the overall I.Q. is dropping. (Okay, now let me mention that every now and then I get an exceptional student who is very well prepared and has great questions). However for the most part, they are unprepared. I'm not happy, but I think it's just my mood...but I swear if I get one more question like, "Can I walk from point A to point B in 10 minutes?" I'm seriously going to say, "I don't know. Why the eff don't you go time it yourself." I mean seems logical doesn't it? DUUUUUUDE.

I Did It Again!

I'm so proud of myself, I worked out again today! I got an email at work that some of the Advisors were going to get together at a place on campus and hang out. I went for a bit and some of them began to buy beer. I was so tempted to buy a glass after a long week at work, but knowing that I was going to come home and do a cardio workout, I thought it not a wise choice; instead I opted for a nice cup of cold, iced water! I drank it and talked and then left because I had to catch my vanpool. All week the van had been picking me up at 4:45...and of course on the day I decide to take my time walking to the pick up spot...there they are waiting for me. F word. Oh well. We get to the Park and Ride Lot at 5:25PM and I walk quickly to my car--I'm dying to pee! I drive home to my apartment in a mad rush...I have to pee so bad my stomach is hurting. I get home, I pee--my FI hands me a protein bar and says, "eat it, wait 15 minutes and then work out." Great idea, I think, as I open the wrapper and eat it. It fills me so that I'm not hungry, but I'm not stuffed and uncomfortable to work out. Chalene and I meet again only this time for Turbo Jam Cardio Party. YEA BABY--she kicks my butt and I kick my own. When she tells me not to give up, I don't. I've started this...and I'm determined not to stop. :D

Finally

So yesterday I finally worked out with the help and motivation from my fiancé. I didn't want to. I felt yucky and fat and I was tired as usual. He urged me to do it and it really motivated me. So, I put on my workout clothes and waddled to the living room. I worked out to Turbo Jam and Chalene Johnson's Turbo Sculpt and then I remembered why I had purchased the workout to begin with. The music was good and she comes across as such a REAL person. When you feel the burn, you know she's feelin the burn too and she motivates you with that, "I know it hurts, but you can do it...the more you put into it, the more you get out if it" type thing. She joked a couple of times and it made me laugh. I love this workout, because I love to dance and the workouts are paired with really cool dance music. I want to work out again tonight...but we'll see how that goes. However unmotivated I am, I have to highly recommend this workout. Chalene rocks!

Whack Attack

Is it going around or something? I've been so tired lately it's ridiculous. A day or two ago I fell asleep on the couch at like 7:40PM, no joke. I've been trying to work out, but I feel tired all the time and all I want to do is sleep. Is it the weather? What the hell is going on? I'm 26 years old, not 60...never mind, I know some 60 year olds that are more active than me. Weight is a new issue for me. Most of my life I've been pretty lean. When I graduated high school I weighed a mere 90 lbs and I remember wishing and hoping and praying for curves. I was literally skin and bones. Granted, I was a runner, but still. I don't remember enjoying food then as much as I do now (which I'm sure is a definite culprit). My first two years in college I managed to get up to 115 and couldn't believe how much weight I had gained. But I was starting to fill out my clothes and I remember being so happy. When I graduated I was at about 125--in my mind, the perfect weight for me. Flash forward to today...4 years after college graduation and I'm teetering on 145-150. Holy crap. For a 5'3" shorty mcmuffin, that's too much--in my opinion. The weight seems to be concentrated around my stomach and my thighs. ARRG. I know I can be dedicated to work out...but it's like life keeps getting in the way. STOP IT LIFE, I need to be fit--I'm in my mid 20's aren't I supposed to love my friggin body right now? This is WHACK ATTACK SON. Nuff said.

I Love FOOD!

Yesterday my wonderful fiancé took me out to eat dinner. He had been raving about this place that he had eaten at with a co-worker and he really wanted to take me there. All I have to say is OMG. This place has the best freaking food! It's called Fresca's Mexican Grill and the food is absolutely to die for. They have this delicious veggie wrap with black beans, rice, salsa, cheese and this awesome sauce. Both of us had that last night and it was soooo good. I highly suggest visiting the website and going to eat there...best damn Mexican food I've had in a long time! :D YAY for Edgar finding out about it! WOOHOO!

Books I Devoured in Middle School

For some odd reason I was thinking about books today. There are a couple of books that I read back when I was in junior high that to this day, I will not get rid off. They are books that created vivid images in my head that I can still remember to this day...books that conjured up feelings and took me to a different world when I no longer wanted to be in my own. My most favorite book is called "Winter of Fire" and it's by Sherryl Jordan.



Link to Amazon for Winter of Fire.

I also vividly remember reading the Midnight Secrets Series by Ryp. It's a bit of a morbid fiction romance, but boy it sure did keep me enthralled when I was in junior high. I have not read the books for a while, and am not too sure if they would capture my attention again--but like I said above, they helped me escape to a magical place when I was younger and hence will forever remain in a special place in my heart and mind.

The Temptation (Midnight Secrets No.1)



The Thrill (Midnight Secrets No. 2)



The Fury (Midnight Secrets No. 3)

Just thought I'd share. :)

UGH!

Dammit...I fell asleep at a good time last night and I know I could have forced myself out of bed this morning but I didn't! DAMN ME!!! DAMN ME TO HELL!! (Sorry to all you super religious people...but since college I have become somewhat of an agnostic, please don't try to convert me). Anyway, I will now force myself to work out this evening even though I didn't want to do that...but I can't let myself start a workout routine and give up. I have done this one too many times and it sucks. I want to feel good in my clothes again...why in the world is this so friggin hard? BIG FAT "F" WORD. Did I mention I'm hungry right now? MOTHERFFFF....

Blah

Ok, so the alarm went off this morning at 4:45AM and fiancé and I both said eff that. We're both sore...so we decided the workout would be an every other day type of thing. The day seems to be kind of dragging. I have nothing officially important or intelligent to say...I'm hungry and I'm going to eat a potato from "Subs and Spuds" with my co-worker. They have a veggie one and dammit I'm gonna ask for cheese. *Sigh* Isn't there a magic weight loss pill somewhere? That or I need to just be complacent with my "chubbie" self. :D

Workout Day 1

Okay, so I got tired of bitching about my weight and not doing anything. My fiancé and I woke up this morning at 4:45AM and then walked to the gym at our apartment complex. It's pretty damn nice and there were a few people already in there when we got there. I got on the treadmill and ran a mile--that's all my fat ass can do at the moment...lol...I hope that with time I will be able to do more. I figure it's better than just sitting around and complaining about how much weight I've gained since college. It's time I did something about it since we're paying rent and we have all this workout equipment available to use. I feel good right now, but I don't know if I'm going to be super tired later in the day. If we're going to be waking up that early though, I'm going to have to make sure I'm in bed by at least 10PM. Okay, so now if only my finacé and I can get up and do this again tomorrow...wait...off to a bad start...WE WILL get up tomorrow and workout! :D

Commuter Day #1 & 2 Updates

Day #1:
Morning Commute

Okay, so it was like a scene from a bad movie--the people on the van seriously had no clue I was joining them, it was my worst nightmare. I drove to Tustin...parked my car near the Albertson's parking lot and walked to a spot where I could see the van coming--good thing I did or I swear they would have left me. They drove into the shopping center, picked up one girl and then started to take off! I ran after them flailing my arms in the air for them to stop like a dumbass...but they saw me and the driver stopped and rolled down her window and said, "Are you joining our vanpool today?" Are you serious? No, I'm not I just felt like flagging you down to make myself look like an idiot in front of everyone right now. Yes, stupid, I'm joining your vanpool. I hop in. One person asleep laying down in one seated row. Second person asleep laying down in the second seated row. Third row, only other person awake besides the driver and the passenger, but only because she just got on the van too. The driver introduces herself as Jeanne (pronounced Jeanie). The girl I sit next to introduces herself as Autumn; I notice right away she has somewhat of a southern accent--cool I think. It was smooth sailing for the most part...all of a sudden I'm thankful for the carpool lane, but the second we hit Riverside the traffic starts. The ride to work is silent and bumpy, but we make it. They park the van like 10 min from the building where I work because they all work for the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and I work for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences College. It all makes sense now--bio geeks, no wonder they don't talk. We don't make it to work on time. I stroll in to my office at 8:20 AM and my boss gives me that good morning your late kinda tone. F word.

Afternoon Commute

I'm a little leery at this point, I don't know what to expect. Meet them at the van at 5 PM they said. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to walk up to the van, I leave my office at around 4:45 PM. I start my hike to the van. It's not a long walk, but I'm overweight and it's hotter than shit outside...I'm sweating profusely and it's grossing me out. I get to the van and walk under any shade I can find. There's a minimal breeze and it cools me a little, but then the heat comes back with a vengeance and slaps me across the face. I wait like 5-7 min. Dammit, I left my office too early. The belltower rings and it's 5 PM. Everyone walks to the van. One of the vanpoolers, who is faculty for CNAS opens the door and actually talks to me, but only to ask me where I live. I explain, he understands and another person introduces herself--she is Lulu. I didn't know people were still named Lulu these days. The driver asks me if I'm going to be joining the van permanently. Is she serious? I say yes. She says on Friday's they leave at 3 PM. WTF? Why? I tell her I'll talk it over with my supervisor--I already figure out in my head that I'm going to have to work through 2 of my lunch hours to leave at 3 PM on Friday--F word again. The drive home is easy. I get the backseat all to myself. I point the air right on my face...the road is bumpy. People fall asleep again. I'm watching, looking and before I know it, we're already merging off onto the 241 toll road. They drop me off and ask me to be there at 7:20 AM the next morning. No problem, I was here at 7 AM today. I say my goodbyes and walk to my Miata. I hop in her, she needs gas...so I gas her up and race on home. Yes, my foot is heavy. I get to the apartments, park in the garage and walk upstairs. I am officially home at 6:08 PM. NOT BAD.

Day #2:
Morning

The alarm goes off at 5:45 AM. I hit snooze. I'm hoping this morning's commute goes better. I get my lazy arse up at 6: 03 AM. I drive to the drop off point in no time...I'm flying and the weather is foggy and cool outside...my car windows are open--man it feels soo good. I get to Albertson's and park my car. I sit in it waiting for the van. Minutes before 7:20 AM Autumn rolls in, she's driving a new toyota camry. The van comes, we get in. Lulu is awake, Autumn falls asleep. The passenger, Ian, is talking to Jeanne about politics. The commute is not bad but we run into traffic again in Riverside. I make it to my office at 8:15 AM--DAMMIT. My supervisor isn't in her office, she's on break. SCORE.

Afternoon

I decide this time I won't leave my office until 4:50 PM. I hike to the van, it's hot, but not as hot as the previous day. My butt is burning...I'm wearing dark jeans and the sun is being drawn to them like water going down a drain. My ass is hotter than all hell by the time I get to the van. I'm the first one there...then Lulu gets there and actually talks to me! I find out she works in the Library--cool. Then Autumn shows up...she talks a little too. Ian walks up next, then Jeanne. I get the backseat to myself again and off we go. Cold air on my face and a couple of bumps here and there...the drive is a breeze and we only come to a halt once on the freeway and the rest is smooth sailing. Before I know it...we're getting dropped off and there's my Miata waiting for me. The weather in Tustin is cool, I decide to drive home with the top down. The air feels soo good...and there's no other feeling in the world like driving down Jamboree in my little convertible. I get home at 6:12 PM and I'm not even tired! Fucking sweet.

Preparing for Commuter Day #1

Okay, I'm a little nervous. I've been washing clothes all morning. I keep trying to go over in my head all the things I'm going to need to take with me to work...I don't know really what to expect. Tomorrow, I'm going to drive to Albertson's in Tustin...leave my car, get in a van with people I don't know except for the fact that they too work at UCR. Supposedly, they pick us up at 7:30am...and we get to work at 8am?? We'll see. I'm anxious to see the traffic...what if I have to go poo while I'm on the van? Are these people going to want to talk to me or will I be listening to my IPOD the whole way? So many questions, I feel like a mess right now. The thing is, I won't have answers until tomorrow. Wow...tomorrow--I start commuter day #1.

Officially in Irvine

Okay, it was a long weekend on the 25th. Edgar and I worked our butts off to get moved into the apartment as quick as possible. I had the whole week off from work, but he still had to go in to work on Monday. Believe it or not, we got everything moved in and unpacked by Sunday. I've been trying to keep myself busy this week, but I've realized one thing--I don't know how to be on vacation! I tried hard to relax, but we had no internet and no tv and I thought I was going to die. I survived and actually got in the habit of doing things I hadn't done in a long time. I think I also started to watch too many DVD's and of course they were all chick flicks that make you cry and then make you re-evaluate your life. Movies are a load of horse shit. Life in all it's retarded imperfections, well is real. People don't always say what you want them to say or do what you want them to do, but that's because life isn't scripted. But isn't that the beauty of it all? Besides, who decides what defines perfect? Nothing in life is ever perfect or easy...and if it was how boring would we be? Our mistakes and our "imperfections" are what defines us, it's what gives us character. I'd like to think I have a lot of that...you know...character.