sweet hubby

Danny and I have not really been able to talk much since he left. We've spoken on the phone a few times but weren't able to speak for long because the connection was so bad. We've been communicating a little on Facebook and email. So, I log onto Facebook yesterday, and I see this as his profile picture:

I just thought this was so sweet! Even though we are thousands of miles apart (countries apart!) he still has me on his mind. It literally made my day. The little gestures like this remind me why I love my husband so much. Only five more days!!

major news

I changed my blog url! My new url is www.ourbellavida.blogspot.com. The old url will no longer work, so please use my new one from now on. I'm so excited - I like the new one so much better :)

my q&a's, part 3

When did you "know" Danny was the one? and how did you know?
The first time I saw Danny, I was instantly attracted to him. I just thought he was so handsome. We both worked at the same attraction at MGM Studios in Walt Disney World. He literally came straight to the States from Costa Rica five days before I met him, and I thought it was so cool that he was from some place exotic and beautiful. All the girls at work would always hit on him, so I honestly thought I didn't have a chance. I even told one of the girls we worked with that I thought he was cute, and she told me that somebody else liked him too and I shouldn't waste my time! Nevertheless, I was really attracted to him. Eventually I realized the feeling between us was mutual, and he asked me out on a date after hanging out casually with friends for a few weeks. We began to spend all of our free time together. We were inseparable. When we would get off the phone or say goodbye to one another, I would usually say "Bye! I'll miss you!" and I always wanted to say something more. I had such strong feelings for him and I knew I loved him. I had never felt that way before. He told me he loved me for the first time in September 2007. And I knew I loved him, too. I knew in my heart that we were meant to be together. I longed for him when we were apart and was so happy when we were together. I guess the only way to explain it is to say that I really can't explain it - I just knew it was right.  You know what I mean? ;)


What are the top 3 places you'd like to travel to that you haven't ever been to? What are the top 3 that you have been to?
The first place I would love to go would be Bologna, Italy because that is where my great-grandparents were born and raised. I would love to see their homeland. The next place would be the Bahamas - cheesy, I know. I just love tropical places! The third place would be Athens, Greece. I think Greece is such a beautiful country and I adore Greek culture.
 
New York City and Jamaica are two of the top places I've been to. My sister lived in New York for ten years so I used to visit often, and I went to Jamaica when I was fifteen years old on Spring Break and it was so much fun. The top place I have ever been to is definitely Costa Rica. As most of you may know, this is my husband's home country and it holds a very dear place in his heart. Not only is it the most beautiful place I have ever seen but it is also the most genuine and authentic. The people, the scenery, the food - I absolutely love this country. I visited in March 2008 and you can see pictures here. 
 
Also, something I've never explained before is the meaning behind my blog name. It literally means "the beautiful life" in Spanish. I chose to name it in Spanish because I want to honor my husband's latino heritage. When we married we combined two cultures and it is important to both of us that we never forget that. I chose "the beautiful life" because I do consider our life to be beautiful. Everything about it - the good, the bad, the ugly - it's all beautiful because it's our life. Most importantly, our little imperfect life is guided by the Word of God, and nothing is more beautiful than that.

my q&a's, part 2

What is the best Christmas present you've ever received? Ever given?
I really cannot think of an answer to this question. I tend to forget the presents I receive year after year. The only memories I retain from the holidays are the moments spent with family. I cherish those moments. The gifts I receive all run together and are just not that important to me. The best gift I've ever given would probably be when I brought home presents from Disney World for my entire family. It was symbolic and meaningful because I was gone for seven months and when I returned from Orlando my life was so different.

What is your dream job?
Well, to be honest I actually love my current job (director of sales at a hotel). I really enjoy it. If I had to choose another job, I would love to open a children's clothing boutique. I actually wrote a business plan years ago and even have a sketch of how I would like the store layout.

What is one thing in your life you'd like a "do over" on?
I am firm believer in living life without regret. I take every mistake and try to turn it into something positive. As cliche as it sounds, I believe lessons can be learned from every situation - no matter how good or bad. If I was able to go back and have a "do over" then I simply would not be the same person I am today.  Have I made mistakes? Absolutely! Did I try to learn something from those mistakes? Definitely. And God blessed the broken road that led me to where I am today.

my q&a's

I would love to know how you came to know the Lord.
I am so glad this topic came up. I actually love this question. So here it goes.

I was raised in the Catholic church. I went to a Catholic elementary school and my family attended Mass most Sundays. I always knew that I was supposed to love God, but that was about all I knew. We had religion classes at school and I knew most of the stories from the Bible, but nothing ever hit home. When I was fourteen years old I attended a Christian church retreat called "Breakthrough" during Christmas break. We spent around five days in a camp-like setting, worshipping and singing God's praises. What really impacted me during my time here were the speakers - their emotional plea for us to let God enter our hearts touched me more than anything had at that point in my life. By the end of the retreat, I was completely dedicated to serving the Lord. I didn't care about material things. All I wanted was to feel the love of my God.

Fastforward to the summer before my senior year of high school. I was seventeen years old and had lost my way many times. I was rebellious and selfish and only cared about myself. My relationship with God had taken a back seat to everything else in my life. I did attend a weekly bible study (mostly just to socialize with my friends) and through this bible study I signed up to attend a week long YoungLife camp called SharpTop  in Jasper, GA. I honestly did not want to go. But I am so glad I did. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it took this week of isolation in paradise to remind me about the love our Heavenly Father had for me. I cried a lot, and I accepted Christ into my heart in front of all my peers.

Then, I went off to college. Those years just flew by and are mostly a blur. God was again the last thing on my mind.

A few years later, I met my husband. We fell in love. He moved to Mississippi from Costa Rica. He is Baptist, which surprised me at first because 90% of Latin America is Catholic. Both his parents were raised Catholic, and they converted to Baptist when they married. At this point, I was not regularly attending church. I actually had not been to church in months. Danny's parents are devout Christians, and he was raised going to church every single Sunday. God was a huge part of his life. He wanted to find a church here that he could start attending, and I was little help. He randomly, and I mean randomly, chose a church in Ridgeland (at this point we lived in Canton - about 20 minutes away) called First Baptist Church Ridgeland. At first, I was hard-headed and did not want to attend a Baptist church. I kept thinking "I'm Catholic! I can't go to a Baptist church!" But how Catholic was I, really? I rarely attended church and hadn't talked to God in ages. So I decided to give FBCR a try because it was really important to Danny. He asked the pastor of the church, Dr. Bennett, to marry us. My mother really wanted a priest to marry us, but since we were not getting married inside the church (we had an outdoor wedding) the Catholic church would not bless our marriage. Danny and I went to several of the required marriage counseling sessions and I could tell that Dr. Bennett really had an interest in us and our relationship. Danny continued to attend church every Sunday without me. I remember his mother telling him not to pressure me to go with him, that doing so would push me away even more. And her advice worked. After watching Danny leave for church every Sunday without me over the course of three or four months, I began to go with him. It really changed me. For the first time in my life, I actually listened to what the pastor was saying and I felt like he was speaking directly to me. He touched me in so many ways and I actually felt God in my life. I started to really feel Him in every aspect of my life. I felt guidance for the first time. My eyes would fill with tears everytime I prayed because I actually felt the Spirit inside me. I began talking to God throughout the day and always turned to Him when I felt down. He became number one in my life. I am sitting here right now, shaking, unable to find the words to explain how profoundly my life changed. God was in my heart, again! And this time I knew He was here to stay. I owe it all to Dr. Bennett and the people of FBCR. They welcomed us into their church home with open arms, and Dr. Bennett helped me to repair my broken relationship with the Lord.

A year and a half later, God still brings me great peace. I look forward to meeting Him in Heaven one day. I talk to Him throughout the day, asking Him to help me be more in His image. I thank Him for sending down an angel in the form of Dr. Bennett. I thank Him for my husband and my family. I thank Him for sending His only son to die on the cross, so that we may have eternal life. He transcends the test of time. He is the single most important thing in my life.

Words are my passion, and yet I am simply unable to fully describe the enormous impact He has had on my life.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39

What is your novel about?
I've actually been working on it for a while now, and I've written nearly 15 pages. It's a very rough draft. I'm waiting until I finish the entire novel before editing anything. It will at least take me another 2-5 years to finish. It is loosely based on my life, but it is definitely fiction. There are lots of little twists and turns sprinkled in and I really enjoy delving into the characters' lives and bringing them to life. To answer your question, it is about a young girl finding an unexpected love and the trials and tribulations that naturally come along with it.

When do you and your husband plan on having kids? How many?
We get asked this question all the time for some reason. We were both 21 years old when we got married, and to many this is entirely too young; but for us, it was just right. Now, we are both 23 years old (we are only six weeks apart) and not quite ready to start a family. It sounds strange to say "start a family" because I already consider the two of us a family. Danny says he wants to wait until we're 30 to have kids, but I want to start a little younger. We compromised and agreed that in about four to five years we would be ready. It is important to both of us that we are not only finacially stable, but also emotionally prepared for a baby. Of course, if God decided that now was the time, we would welcome a baby with open arms.

We both want at least three to four children. Danny's mom has six sisters and one brother, so he grew up with about 25 cousins. He also has two brothers, and I have two brothers and a sister…so we both came from big immediate and extended families. We really love large families.

Merry Christmas! :)

update

Just thought I'd check in and let you know that Hubby is gone and I hated spending last night alone. He called me once he arrived in San Jose and said his entire family was at the airport to pick him up (aunts, uncles, cousins, mom & dad, brothers and sister in law). I'm so happy that he's with his family - he hasn't seen them in over 15 months, but I'm also really sad because I miss him so much. At least I still have my family here at home and I'm not going to spend the next few weeks being sad.

On a lighter note, I plan on answering the few questions I've gotten in the previous post by tomorrow, so if you have any more, please post them by this evening.

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve!!

passing the time

Danny leaves for Costa Rica tomorrow morning at 6am. This means I have to wake up at 4am to take him to the airport. Anything for my sweet hubby. This also means that I will be looking for anything to pass the time while he is gone. I have never been alone for two weeks and honestly I am not looking forward to it. So, I've decided to do a series of Q&A posts like I've seen on lots of blogs lately. I probably won't get that many questions, but the ones I do get I promise to answer in length. Like I said, I need something to pass the time for the next two weeks. So if you have anything you want to ask me - please leave a comment with your question! There are no boundaries - so ask anything within reason ;) And, if I don't have any comments, I will just start spilling my life story (which may take thirty posts).

I look forward to y'all getting to know me better! :)

my fair house - part 2

These are more pictures of my valances in the kitchen and the matching throw pillows in the living room. The picture below is of the two small windows above my kitchen sink. And, no, that is not a lake outside - it is a puddle from the rain. We don't have very good drainage :) And all of these pictures were taken on my iphone - sorry for the quality (again)!

This is one of the matching throws with our "B" monogram.

This is a picture of the sitting area in the living room with the throws I had made.

More to come...I'm off to bake Christmas cookies with my family! :)

my fair house

I realized today that I have not given an updated tour of my home since we moved in in October. I have definitely not finished decorating, but I have done alot since we moved in. I'm going to do a series of posts showing you different things throughout the house. Decorating an entire house is a huge project and it is definitely a work in progress.

These are valances I had made for the bay window in our kitchen. I got the fabric at a store called Premier Fabrics in Jackson - they have the cutest fabrics at great prices! I bought 10 yards, and she made me five valances and matching throw pillows for our couch.

I'm sorry for the quality of these photos! They were taken at night with my iphone - so not the best resolution! Do you think we should put white wood blinds on these windows too?  I can't decide. It looks a little bare to me.

I am going to change out our place mats for something that matches and I need to get a centerpiece for the table. I had one made for me and it is just waiting to be picked up at the Pine Cone. I will take pictures of the throws this afternoon and post them later. Stay tuned! :)

the holiday

I decided to give y'all a run down of my Christmas itinerary because I know you are just dying to know. You're welcome.

• December 19th - My sister and brothers fly in town around 4PM. Danny and I will be cleaning the house that morning and then we have a wedding that night. After the wedding we plan on meeting up with my sibs and aunt to watch the Saints game.
• December 20th - Brunch with entire family (mom, dad, hubby, brothers, sister, aunts)
• December 21st - I have to go to work, then we will go look at Christmas lights that evening.
• December 22nd - My sweet hubby leaves for Costa Rica and will be gone for 2 weeks :(  I will try my hardest not to cry. My sis will spend the night with me this night because I refuse to stay at my house alone.
• December 23rd - Dinner at Char or Ely's with my entire family.
• December 24th - I'm off work! Spend the day at my parents house cooking, listening to Christmas music and drinking some wine. That night we will have a big family dinner and open a few presents. I will spend the night at my parents house.
• December 25th - My birthday and Christmas day! Wake up to the smell of warm wassail and coffee cake in the oven. We will wait for the entire fam to arrive and begin opening presents. We always watch the Christmas Parade on tv. In the late afternoon, we will celebrate my birthday with cake and few presents. My sister and I usually go out Christmas night to celebrate my birthday.
• December 26th - Sister & brothers' last day in town! Spend all day with the fam.

And after this point everything will be pretty calm. I have off work New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Danny doesn't get back until January 5th so I am not sure what I will do while he's gone. Maybe I'll start my New Year's resolution early and start going to the gym again? Hubby gets mad because I pay $50 a month to be a member of gym and haven't been since September. Oops ;)

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Being without Danny for two weeks will surely make me realize that the only thing that matters this time of year is family. Not the presents, not the lights, not the decorations, not the food. Just family. I will really miss him. We both made a vow that this would be the only Christmas/Birthday that we ever spend apart. And, if you are lucky enough to spend the holiday with your family, please enjoy it and be thankful. Because God and family are the only things that matter.

merry christmas

Better late than never! Yes, this is my Christmas tour of homes post. We had a really busy weekend, so I am now sitting in McAlister's deli getting up to date with everything.

So let the touring begin!

This is a picture of our tree. Last year we were still in our apartment and had a small 4 foot tree, so this is our first year to have a big tree. It is 7 feet tall and I love it! It's fake which I love because we can keep it up all the way through January :) I took this picture before we had the star on the top of the tree - my apologies!

This is our tree from last year in the apartment:

And another shot of our Christmas tree this year. We wanted to do something simple - so we just have pretty balls of all different sizes all over the tree with white lights and bronze mesh. I think it turned out really nice.

 

This is a precious ornament that my mom got us. It says "New Home" in honor of our first house! She gets us one every year. Last year we got one that said "Our First Christmas Together" since we had just gotten married two months before.

Here is our tree skirt. I got it from Pier One. It just caught my eye right when I walked in the store...it looks a little vintage and classic.

This is a piece of pottery that I got from the Pine Cone in Jackson. I got the little tree from Target and I love how it shines.

Isn't this holiday plate cute? I forgot to mention that all of the above pictures are from the living room area.

This is our mantle. The stockings were hand made by a local seamstress. I wanted to get them monogrammed but never got around to it. The stocking holders are gold snowflakes from Pier One.

We live in the south. And it never snows here. But last week it actually snowed!! This is the only picture we got of our house with snow on it.

We had a Christmas party at our house Saturday night and this is the only picture I got from the whole night! My parents helped cook a bunch of food for us and brought it over before the party. This is a picture of some of the delicious food! And there was more too - I wish I had taken more pictures! The party turned out really well and about 35 people came over. It was so fun!

This is a picture of some of my friends and I in the kitchen. Lindsey and Rhianna drove three hours from Alabama to come to the party. I love y'all so much!

Merry Christmas!

no words

I plan on doing the Nester's Christmas Tour post later today, but right now I have very sad news. We just found out that Danny's sister-in-law lost her baby. She was almost four months pregnant. We haven't found out any more details, but please keep his family in your prayers as they navigate through this difficult time. I hope they'll find peace in knowing that God has a bigger plan for all of us, and that He is holding her baby in the palm of His hand right now.

'tis the season

Thought I'd tempt you with a sneak peek of our Christmas tree :)

numbers

At this exact moment life is a little bittersweet. I feel like my life is all about numbers right now. Eighteen days until my twenty third birthday. Wow, I feel old. Just kidding. Hubby leaves for Costa Rica in fifteen days - right before my birthday and Christmas (which happen to fall on the same.exact.day.). He'll be gone for fourteen days. He will miss five holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, my birthday, New Year's Eve and New Year's day). My sister and brothers fly in town on the nineteenth and will be here for seven days. We are having a Christmas party at our house in five days. My dad's sixtieth birthday is in two days. The rest of my life? Well, that starts today. No numbers there. Just faith :)


I guess you can’t do countdowns your whole life...you just have to live and let God do the counting for you.

honest scrap award

Sarah Denley gave me the Honest Scrap Award! She and I went to high school together (she was a year ahead of me) but we didn't really know each other that well. I think we were in some plays together, and maybe drama class, but that's about it. I found her blog through a friend of a friend and have been following her for a few months now and I think she is so funny! Like I said, we never really talked in high school, but after reading her blog alot I feel like I know her so much better, haha! And it also seems like we have alot in common as far as living in the same area and both being married young.  Anyway, thanks Sarah Denley!!

Rules for the award:

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.

2. Share "10 Honest things" about yourself.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

So here are my super honest confessions:

1.  Whenever I am in the car alone, I turn on the country station as loud as it will possibly go and hold my cellphone in front of me like a microphone and sing/scream at the top of my lungs. And it always happens that someone in the car right beside is looking at me at just the right time and they start laughing hysterically (sometimes pointing at me while laughing). What can I say?  I love to sing.

2.  I always thought that I would hate working and that all I wanted to do was be a stay at home mom. While I would still love to be able to stay at home with my baby one day, I really enjoy working. I think my job just fits me perfect and I honestly like it. I don't dread going to work, which I am very thankful for.

3.  I am extremely close to my family, especially my mom. She and I still have our occasional arguments (nothing like our fights in highschool), but we are really close and talk on the phone at least once a day. She is an elementary school honors teacher and I always call her for questions about random things and you know how teachers always seem to know the answer. My sister always jokes and asks when my mom and I are going to cut the umbilical cord (haha - gross analogy, I know!). My mom was a bit like supermom when we were growing up - she always threw us the most creative birthday parties, our lunches were always packed, my hair was always combed and all of this while shuffling my brother and I between twenty different activities. Her mother (my grandmother) was 100% Italian and my mom & I both show signs of that strong Italian personality.

4.  On a similar note, something I inherited from my mother is my strong, opionated, sometimes bossy personality. For instance, I recently was on the phone with direct tv customer service. I was not getting the answer I wanted from the agent, so after threatening to switch to dish network and demanding the manager, I was finally put through to a supervisor. After 20 minutes she gave in and gave us free HD for a year. I was taught that the squeaky wheel always gets the oil.

5.  I love the beach. Loooooove the beach. My favorites are South Beach, Destin, and Playa Samara in Costa Rica. Hubby tends to get irritated with me because all I want to do is lay out. What else are you supposed to do at the beach? Be active?? I don't think so.

6.  I was born on Christmas Day and sometimes I wish so bad that my birthday was in some random month like September. Every year I go through the same thing: people forgetting my birthday, people not telling me happy birthday enough and everyone else getting presents too so the day is not as special for me. Am I a spoiled brat? Absolutely.

7.  I definitely want children one day and I already have the names picked out...Iris (after Danny's grandmother) and Kylan Samuel (after my dad).

8.  I miss my grandmothers. Really bad.

9.  My mother was at Woodstock. Yes, really. In the summer of 1969. She was a wild one ;)

10.  I am currently writing my first novel. So far I've written about 14 pages and still have a long way to go. It will probably take me another 2 years to finish, but when I do, it will be one of my greatest accomplishments. I majored in Journalism in college (I attended the University of Alabama) and I loved it. Writing is definitely one of my passions.

And finally, I would like to give this award to the following people because I love their blogs!!

Ashely
Amy
Lil' Woman
Leslie

holiday madness

I haven't posted in a few days because we have just been so busy. Where do I begin? I'll start with my sister flying in town early Thursday morning from Los Angeles. She comes straight to my house from the airport and informs me that the airport has lost her luggage. On Thanksgiving day...what a nightmare. So she borrows some clean clothes and we all head over to my parents house around noon for Thanksgiving lunch, and the airport assures her that she will her luggage will be found and delivered to my parent's house within the hour (what a joke). My parent's had prepared a delicious meal - turkey, dressing, corn casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, spinach & artichoke casserole, and buttered rolls. It was so good and we all drank way too much wine and ate way too much food. After lunch, we all hung out at my parent's house. It was so relaxing. My sister and I then go shopping to find her something to wear until she gets her luggage back (by this time it is nearly 6PM). After shopping for new clothes, she finally gets her luggage delivered at 10PM. Like I said, what a nightmare. Hubby and I then went to our house to get some sleep. His friend Jack came over and slept in one of our guest rooms because he was waking up with us to go to the Black Friday sales. That's right - we actually went shopping on Black Friday. Our alarms went off at 3:30 AM and Jack & I were at Walmart by 3:50 AM. Hubby went to Target and got there at 4AM. The reason we split up was because there was a HP Laptop that was on sale at Walmart for $298 and a 40 inch TV at Target for $450. Can you believe it?! We desperately needed a bigger tv for our living room, and thought that we could probably use a new laptop, too. The reason Jack went with me to Walmart is because Danny's dad wanted a new laptop too and they are really expensive in Costa Rica, so we bought one for him that Danny will bring with him when he goes to visit in a few weeks. Anyway, so Jack & I get in line for the laptop we want (yes each item has its own line) at 4AM and we each receive a numbered ticket. After waiting in line for forty five minutes, the manager walks up and asks who has number 57. We looked at our tickets and saw that we had 47 & 48. The manager walks back to the lady that has number 57 (there had to be like 75 people in line for this one item) and tells her that only 1-56 will receive laptops. And of course she gets pissed. I mean really mad...as in screaming. Did I mention that the store is so packed that there is no room to even have a buggy in front of you? It was crazy. So 5AM rolls around and the line finally starts moving and we both get laptops! Meanwhile, Danny had to wait in line outside of Target in the freezing cold for a whole hour. When they opened the doors at 5AM, he ran sprinted inside the store to the very back where the tv's were, and he got the huge 40 inch tv and dragged it through the store all the way to the check out counter. He said it was madness. We got home around 6AM and went straight to bed because Danny had to be at work at 10. It kind of felt like we were the Griswold family. But only for a second.

Danny opening our new TV! It felt like Christmas morning :)

So that's our Thanksgiving story. Ahh, how I love my family. 

Happy Holidays!!!

thankful

I am thankful.

Thankful for my husband.

Thankful for family.

Thankful for friends.

And most importantly, I am thankful for my King, my Saving Grace, my Lord.

Happy Thanksgiving!

compromise

Hubby and I have an ongoing domestic battle: the dishes. We both hate...despise...dread doing the dishes. Sometimes it will get to the point that our dirty dishes will sit there for weeks and finally my mother will come over to visit and say "What on earth is that smell?!". This seemed to be a persistent problem when we lived in our apartment for the first year of our marriage, but neither one of us cared too much because our apartment was small and undecorated and awful. But we have now been in our brand new house for nearly a month. And we are finally using my brand new dishes (the Good Earth pottery) that were wedding presents which I saved for an entire year because I did not want to use them in the apartment. And so, my brand new dishes are sitting on my brand new granite countertops in my brand new home because Hubby and I are both too lazy/stubborn to do anything about it. So this all leads up to two days ago, when I finally caved in and decided to do the dishes (I'll give credit where credit's due - Hubby did the dishes 80% of the time in our apartment). So I cook dinner, scrub the dishes and load them into the dishwasher. I distinctly remember Hubby agreeing to finish the rest of the dishes (oh yes, there were tons) since I cooked dinner and did an entire load. Hubby distinctly remembers saying no such thing. And so the bickering goes round and round. And the dishes are still piling up. Well, this gets even better...so Hubby decides to surprise me with doughnuts this morning for breakfast. I never have time to eat breakfast in the morning as I wake up withjustenough time to get ready, so this was a welcome surprise. He was trying to score "points" so he doesn't have to do the dishes. Let me explain: in our house, it's all about being "fair" and "even"....he does one thing, and then I'll do one thing. He sweeps, I mop. He waters the grass, I mail the bills, and the list goes on. I am now sitting here three hours later and it finally hits me -- just do the dishes, stupid! It's not about being fair, it's about not being lazy. It's about taking one for the team and expecting nothing in return. So I will do the dishes - all of them. I will water the grass, make the bed, sweep the floors...and do the dishes. I always tell him "marriage is about compromise!" and this whole time I have been selfishly uncompromising. I know that I have to start this merry go-round, and that once I start compromising, he will too. Eventually, it will turn into a circle of compromise (like that analogy?). Please don't judge. We are taking this marriage thing one day at a time. And I am loving every day :)

carding season

Help! I can't choose! Which one do you like?

holly jolly holidays

This past weekend we took our Christmas card pictures at my parent's house in the country. My dad took all the pictures and I think he did a pretty good job - I was impressed! Here is a sneak peek of a few of my favorites (and some bloopers!):

Merry Christmas!

be present

Thanks for thinking about me as I was having a couple of bad days this week (I do read your comments and love them!).  It all boils down to me just being a brat and wanting everything my way.  Sometimes all it takes is a massage and a deep breath to put everything back into perspective.  And talking to God always helps bring me back down to earth.  He gives me peace.  And I love Him for that. 

I think this time of year makes me a little tense.  All the planning, running errands, cleaning, packing, unpacking...it stresses me out for no good reason.  I often find myself counting down until this holiday or that one, and before I know it an entire year has just passed me by.  It's easy to get stuck in a routine and when that happens all the days just run together...and you're just watching the clock, waiting for 5 o'clock to roll around.  I hate that!  We really try to mix it up and incorporate new and different things into our weekly routine but sometimes it justs gets too hard.  Does anyone else have this problem?  It just feels so monotonous sometimes.  I want to enjoy every single day of my life - not just the weekends.  I've realized that you can't be on auto-pilot; you have to be in the moment, be present.  Just some things I've been thinking about lately.

...This is also the time of year when we start planning our vacations for next year.  Hubby wants to visit my brother in Montana and I want to go on a cruise to the Bahamas.  Looks like several vacations are in the works.  And we actually have a pretty busy weekend ahead of us so you might not here from me until Monday.  We still have unpacking (yes, almost a month later, I know), rearranging, our 30 day walk through the house with the builder, our church Fall Festival, shopping (trying to convince Hubby to buy our Christmas tree this weekend - it's never too early) and gardening/tree buying (our house has no trees...as in zero).  I plan to post updated pictures of our house, too! Talk to you soon!

the thunder rolls

Yesterday I was down in the dumps.  Just one of those days.  Everything was going wrong, nothing was going my way.  I kept hearing things I didn't want to hear and seeing things I didn't want to see.  It was like a stop light turning red right as you pull up to the light, and then you see a tornado thundering toward you in your rear view mirror.  Of course you run the red light to save your life...and right as you run the light you get pulled over.  Just as the cop is giving you a ticket while you scream that your life is in danger, the tornado turns around and rolls into the opposite direction.  The cop then gives you another ticket for screaming.  You speed off as soon as he gets back in his police car.  No less than thirty seconds later you feel your car bumping along the road and realize you have a flat tire.  You are in the middle of nowhere.  Then, on top of everything else, lightning strikes your car.  You left your cell phone at home.  It is pouring down rain and the thunder keeps rolling.  All you can do is...scream.

bad day

It's one of those days.

Today I just want to scream, pull my hair out and sit very still all at the same time.  I have all these emotions boiling inside me and can't seem to find any sort of release.  All I want to do is scream.

But I can't.  All I can do right now is sit.  And I can't even sit still.

My face is red and I feel steam coming from my ears.  I alternate between setting my jaw and grinding my teeth.  I am fuming.  My mood is sour.  Everyone is irritating me today.  And by everyone I mean a certain someone in particular. 

Lord, please give me peace.

Like I said, it's just one of those days.

costa rica

I thought I'd share some pictures from my trip to Costa Rica in March 2008. This was my first time to ever go to Costa Rica, and also my first time to meet Danny's family. I was so nervous! Danny was living in Costa Rica finishing up his last semester of college and I was living at home. When he picked me up from the airport it was the first time we'd seen each other in 6 weeks. I was so happy to see him that I almost started crying! This is one of the first pictures I took driving into San Jose on the way to Danny's house.

This is Danny, myself and his friend Gomez. We went out to eat and have some drinks the first night I got there. I knew Gomez from Disneyworld and was so glad to see him, too!

This is a picture of our first day on the beach at Playa Samara. It took us a five hour bus ride through the mountains to get there. I almost had a panic attack when we were driving right on the edge of the mountain because I am deathly afraid of heights! The beach just looks so beautiful and serene in this picture.

Danny taking a dip in the ocean. The beach was not crowded at all. It was so relaxing.

I was just taking it all in. It was amazing!

These are little huts right on the beach where people live.

Playa Samara (Samara Beach)

We were sitting at an outside bar right on the beach, and I thought this was the perfect picture of complete and total relaxation.

I didn't take surf lessons, but we did ride a banana boat out in the ocean. It was so fun.

Look at the plane behind us! This was in Playa Carrillo, another beach nearby Samara.

Sunset in Samara.

Danny, myself, Gomez and Tatiana

We stayed at Danny's friend's beach house in Samara. This is Danny cooking breakfast for the whole group one morning - there were about seven of us!

This is us walking up the mountain to the top of the volcano.

Looking down into the volcano.

About to go ziplining through the rainforest! I think the name was Sarapiqui. We took a boat ride through the river then rode horseback to get to this rainforest.

The boat ride to the rainforest.

On the river!

Playa Samara

This was a little beach restaurant that I thought was so pretty.

I have tons more pictures of my trip but thought I would just share a few. Danny is going back to Costa Rica for Christmas this year and he'll be gone for two weeks. I'll miss him but we have been apart for far longer than that so I know I can handle it! Danny wants to eventually (maybe 10 years from now) buy a house in Costa Rica and have one here as well. He also wants our children to spend their summers in Costa Rica with his parents so they will know both cultures. Pura Vida!