Pictures: October, November, Decemeber 2009

So, this is going to be a VERY photo-heavy post. You have been warned!

My new tattoo

Seattle trip (October 23-25)--right after we landed at SEA-TAC

The Crew: Mona, Kenia, Adriana, Danny, and me (at Pike Place)

Before heading out to the club--we had a private table and bottle service

The next morning we had brunch in the Space Needle's revolving restuarant

Us in front of the Space Needle

Beer Sampler at The Pike Brewery

I made Fernando's Halloween costume this year

Fernando and our roomie Gabe carving pumpkins

We're an odd couple

We went to a Halloween party at Brett's house

Brett and Stevie--our hosts for the evening

Mona's 26th Birthday Party in SLO--me and Laurie before heading out

Bottle Service at Native Lounge in downtown SLO

I love my sisters!

Alma and I. How I love my comadre.

Super cute pic of me and the birthday girl

The next day was Founder's Day for my sorority. Here's a group picture.

I got a haircut a couple days before Thanksgiving

Our turkey from Thanksgiving. My hubby made it :)

This is Chelsea, the little girl I nanny for

Fernando and I went to see Zane Lamprey perform stand-up on December 10th

I told you this was going to be photo-heavy! If you made it this far--congratulations, you're all caught up~

~LOVE~

Now's As Good a Time As Any . . .

I'm a terrible blogger. Sorry. Grad school will do that to you.

At least that means I've been attentive to my school work. I should get all 'A's this semester--if I can find it in myself to finally bear down and finish my last two assignments for the semester. I have a take-home final and a 10-page paper about the application of counseling theories due in my Counseling Theory class on Thursday. I've begun working on the take-home final (about 1/3 done), but I've been having a hard time focusing lately. It's the holiday hustle and bustle, and my new job.

That's right, I got a job as a part-time nanny. 3 days a week, I watch a 2-year-old little girl named Chelsea. It's a lot of work, but I'm enjoying it. I'm also still tutoring privately. Oh, and I signed up for three classes next semester. I'm crazy.

After this coming Thursday, I will have over a month off from school. My first class of Spring semester isn't until January 21st. My brother and his wife will be driving out from Lubbock this year to visit. Ian and Shelley have asked to stay at our house, and we're really looking forward to hosting them. The other big news is that next week after his finals, Fernando will officially be done with school. Again, he won't be walking until May because CSUN doesn't have a Winter graduation ceremony, but he will officially be "graduated." We are celebrating by going to the George Lopez show this Friday. I'm thrilled!

Okay, so for my next post--it will be a bunch of pictures of the events that have elapsed since I last posted. Stay tuned!

~LOVE~

See How Much I Love You

I have a feeling that once my family members read this I'm going to get a mouthful, but I don't care. Mine and Fernando's 3-year anniversary is coming up soon, and we've decided what we're going to do to celebrate: We're getting matching tattoos. To commemorate how we met (he was looking for someone to accompany him to an Aquabats concert), we're getting the "Aquabomber" tattood on us.

Fernando is planning on getting this little guy tattoo'd exactly as he appears here on the inside of his left bicep. I'm getting mine on my left shoulderblade area (so yes, I can cover it easily so as to remain professional looking). I might make a small alteration to the design--I'm thinking of adding a little heart-on-fire at the top of the Aquabomber's stick. I was originally going to add a lyric from an Aquabat's song ("I knew that day, our love would never end"), but that will probably make the tattoo cost a lot more. The design is completely in black and whtie, which is in keeping with mine and Fernando's current trend (this will be my 3rd tattoo, his 4th).

I'm excited--it's been over 5 years since I last got a tattoo and I can't recall what it feels like anymore.

~LOVE~

School Nights

School has finally begun full swing. Fernando started classes almost a month ago, so he is out of the house Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights attending classes. This is his last semester. He is technically also doing an internship this semester, but his "intership" is "gaining management experience" at his current day job at Pacific Sales. This isn't requiring that much more work than Fernando was already doing--he was already on tract for management training. After his finals in Decemeber, Fernando will be an official college graduate--long time coming but worth the wait! CSUN doesn't have a ceremony for winter graduates, so Fernando won't be walking in his cap and gown until May 2010, but he will be walking. Hopefully we can throw a little party for him then. When I met Fernando over seven years ago, he wasn't serious about school. He'd been out of high school for three years and he only have a few COC credits to his name. I'm proud of all his hard work. I don't know if he went back to school just for me, but I know he now knows the importance of his education and appreciates all his hard work over the past five years to get his bachelor's degree.

I have finally attended at least one session of each of my three classes. My classes were slow to start because the first day of classes was the Thursday before Labor Day, and my Tuesday class only meets every other Tuesday. My current schedule seems very manageable-the only downer is the long commute to and from classes three nights a week.

Above: A picture of me being a dork and showing off my "back to school" look.

My Monday night class meets from 4:00-6:50pm on the main campus in Thousand Oaks. The name of the class is Programs and Functions in College Student Personnel. This class seems like it will be my most "fun" as it is most directly related to my specialization. Some of the assignments include attending a few student life events at a few different college campuses and reporting on them, interviewing student affairs professionals at a few campuses and reporting on them, and developing a new student affairs program in groups and doing a final paper/presentation to the class.

My Tuesday night class, which meets only 2 Tuesdays a month, meets from 7:00-9:50pm on the main campus. This class is called Tools for Research, Practice, and Professional Development. As far as I can tell, this class is going to mostly be a joke. The instructor is a recent graduate from the same program as me (although he is PPS, not CSP--which means he specializes in jr. high/high school students). The job of the class is to teach us APA style, how to search databases, how to use Excel, and how to use PowerPoint. Our projects are a short paper that synthesizes the findings of 2 or 3 peer reviewed articles, written in APA style, and then a PowerPoint presentation done in groups. The only new thing I'm learning is APA style, but the teacher is teaching us APA style by making us watch a 20 minute internet video about it. Also, this teacher told the class that magazine articles from "respected and trusted magazines like Time" count as peer-reviewed journal articles. Again. What . . . a joke. Well, at least it's an easy 'A'.

Finally, my Thursday class is called Counseling Theory and Practice and meets 7:00-9:50pm on the Woodland Hills Graduate Center. The building is really cute--a grouping of classrooms centered around a "lounge," which is a room with two tables, a microwave, a coffee maker, and a soda machine. I can bring my dinner with me and heat and eat there! Anyway--this will probably be my hardest class. It's mostly theory with a little practice thrown in. My instructor is a little cooky, but I've found that most psych instructors are. Our main assignments include a review of a journal article about a multi-cultural counseling issue, a short paper where we apply 14 different counseling theories to the same population of students, and finally, a large 8 page research paper about one of the theories from class, which also requires us to do a 15 minuite long PowerPoint presentation to the class about the theory and a demonstration of one the counseling techniques from that theory. I've been assigned "Feminist Theory." There is also going to be a take-home final which we'll have to write short written responses to a few prompts.

So that about wraps up what school is all about for the Vasquez clan. Other than school, life is going well for us. I'm tutoring like a mad woman and am actually in the middle of attempting to get a part-time nanny position. I've already had a successful phone-interview with the mother, and she wants to set up a time for me to meet her, her husband, and their daughter in person. The daughter is almost 2 years old, so if hired, I will probably be going through potty-training with her (fun!). I'd have to wake up super early and be in Castaic by 6:30AM three days a week. But, the benefits of a nanny position are it'll be fun, educational (at least for me), and I can use naptimes as study time. Also, more income that is tax free. Fernando is excited for fall because his beloved football has returned to TV, and Fernando spends several hours a week monitering his fantasy football league teams. That's right, I said teams, with an "s."

I took some pictures of the main Cal Lutheran campus the last tmie I was there, so maybe I'll share those with you soon. Until then . . .

~LOVE~

Changes

I've made some changes to the blog so that it is more of a "family blog," rather than just my blog. With all the big changes coming in mine and Fernando's life together, I want our blog to reflect them. Stay tuned for more stories and pictures from "La Vida de Los Vasquez."

~LOVE~

What I've Done (So Far) On My Summer Vacation

My life has been pretty eventful for the last month. Since I last posted, I've:

Put my two week notice in at work

Attended two No Doubt concerts--one with Mona, the other with Elena

Registered for classes at Cal Lutheran

Trained my ex-boss' husband how to do my job

Hosted my friend Danny (from SF) and his friend, Ester (from Spain) at my house while they visited LA

Had my last day at work, where I left in a blaze of glory (Company lunch of El Pollo Loco and lots of well wishes)

Traveled to San Diego with my husband to celebrate his 28th birthday--hit up Phil's BBQ, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and Stone Brewery

House-sat for my parents while they camped in Sequoia

Drove all the way to Glendale to get a haircut with Tanya

Spent a day with Alma and Gus at the pool--then Fernando joined us for a BBQ and a couple rounds of Loteria and Dominoes

Went out for a drink with Neda for her birthday

And here is some proof of my adventures:

We took Danny and Ester to a wine bar because Ester really wanted to try California wine

I had wine (of course), but Fernando had beer (of course)

Fernando and I at Phil's BBQ in San Diego for his birthday dinner

After dinner, we went for drinks with our host for the evening, Evy

My new haircut

Well, that's about all I can update you on for now. I promise to write again soon, hopefully after my first week of classes at Cal Lutheran. My first day is September 3rd!

~LOVE~

"Congratulations! . . ."

I got my official letter of acceptance from Cal Lutheran today! My new life as a grad school student will begin soon. I already broke the news to my boss that my last day of work will be August 14th. She was shocked and disappointed that I'm leaving, but happy for me. I'm going to be leaving this job on good terms with the company, which is good for future job searches.

I'm already getting anxious about the cost of private school. Oh, man! I'm gonna be in so much debt two years from now!

~LOVE~

Waiting

Just so you all know--my interview at CLU went well last Monday. Thank you for the prayers and positive vibes. I was super nervous for the first couple of minutes of the interview and I could tell I was talking a little too fast, but I eased into the interview and was a lot more "sure" of myself and spoke coherently for the remainder. I answered the questions honestly, and my advisor seemed interested in my background with multi-cultural issues, Ethnic Studies, Upward Bound, and English. She said my GPA was great and that all my letters of recommendation were good, so she said it would be hard for her to imagine me not getting into the program. The final decision is made by a committee and I have been told I would be notified within two weeks. I don't know if the notification comes via e-mail or snail-mail, so I've been jumping each time my Blackberry buzzes and anticipating an envelope from Cal Lutheran in my mailbox each afternoon. So far, nothing. But no news is good news at this point.

At the end of the interview, my advisor essentially told me what classes I'll be registering for in the Fall (with days and times of class meetings), which I take as a sign that I'm already in. Now I'm just waiting for notification to make it official. Once I am officially notified, I'll be putting in my notice at work. I want my last day to be August 14th (the day before Fernando and I leave for San Diego for his 28th birthday trip). Classes start September 2nd!

I'm getting pretty antsy as it has almost been two weeks already. I filled out my FAFSA already to keep myself busy in the meantime. Now, I'm just waiting . . .

~LOVE~

CLU Admissions Interview

Please send all your spare positive energy to me on Monday, July 13th at 4:30pm PST. A solid half-hour of good vibes should be sufficient. Thanks in advance!

~LOVE~

Cal Lutheran

I just got a call today from Cal Lutheran. I didn't hear it ring, but they left me a voicemail message. They want me to call back to arrange my admissions interview. One step closer to grad school. As soon as I know when the interview will be, I'll let you know. I'll need tons of prayers, wishes, and other forms of positive energy behind me that day.

~LOVE~

Scratch

Things that I am sick of:

The economy.

Bug bites.

Back pain.

Everyday at my work is an emergency. We're "running lean." This basically means there are too few people doing the work here, not enough product on our shelves to satisfy orders, not enough money in the bank to pay our vendors, not enough customers paying us money for the product we busted our asses to send out to them . . . and the cycle continues. Oh, and our bookkeeper (the smelly one I didn't care for too much) quit, leaving behind quite a mess (literally and figuratively). Also, my cousin just got laid off from his job and that sucks.

Everytime I go out in my backyard, I get bit by bugs. EVERYTIME. It's getting old.

I pulled a muslce in my back a couple weeks ago. The doctors gave me pain killers, but they don't do anything for me. I'm trying to wait it out, but if the pain doesn't go away soon, I have to go to physical therapy.

My brother-in-law, Gilbert, passed away on Memorial Day from a sudden stroke. Fernando and I went up to the funeral on Friday to pay our respects. My sister is now a widow. It breaks my heart. We will miss Gilbert a lot. Not much else to say about that.

The only good news I have to report is that Fernando go a promotion and a raise last week. He also is not taking any classes this summer, so hopefully I'll get to see him in the evenings more often. I'll still be tutoring during the summer, but the hours will be descreasing somewhat.

I hope you are doing well.

~LOVE~

Run

I'm feeling very emotional today. Not sure why. I'll chalk it up to the gloomy weather.

I still haven't updated about New York, but now that I've uploaded the photos, I might be able to do a proper update THIS weekend.

Last weekend turned out alright. On Saturday I had big plans to wake up early, clean the house, cook dinner, and have my friends over. Well, I woke up late, and spent most of the day cathing up on shows on my DVR, but I did actually get a lot of chores done. I watered plants, washed dishes, swept, mopped, cleaned the chinchilla's cage, and made it to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for tacos. I had my friend, Jenn, and her boyfriend, Eric, over for tacos and maragaritas. This marked the first time Fernando and I had guests really sit down to eat at our new kitchen table.

Later that night, Fernando and I made the trek out to Studio City to go to Xenia's 21st Birthday party at Saddle Ranch at City Walk. The place was just too crowded, so we didn't really have a lot of fun. I'm starting to think I'm getting too old to be going to 21st birthday parties anymore . . .

On Sunday, we slept in. I was so tired from staying up late the night before. I tutored for just an hour on Sunday, and since I got done with tutoring early, I stopped at the book store. I had a gift card from Christmas that I was itching to use. I also had a craving for Starbucks. So I ended up picking up the complete Persepolis and the third Twilight book, Eclipse. I went home and started reading, and about an hour later, our friends, Andrew and Amy, stopped by. We drove all the way to Simi Valley to eat pastrami sandwiches at The Hat (I actually had a grilled cheese) and then drove all the way to Canyon Country to have Menchie's (yummy frozen yogurt place). It was a nice end to a pleasant Sunday.

This week has been moving pretty slow. I think I'm going to go for an extra long run/walk today. Maybe I'll run to my parents' house and back? That would be kinda cool. Yeah, that's an idea.

~LOVE~

New York City, Baby!

I'm a terrible blogger. I've been dependent on Twitter for the past couple months, which would explain my lack of real blog posts.

I promise a more fleshed out post later (this weekend), but here's my NYC experience as seen through my Twitter posts (tweets). Of note--these times are all PST, even though I was in EST most of the time.

On my way to LAX. Thanks, hubster, for braving the airport traffic! 8:07 AM Apr 4th from TwitterBerry

Boarding my flight . . . NYC, here I come! 9:40 AM Apr 4th from TwitterBerry

Just touched down at JFK . . . A bit earlier than expected, but that's OK. Time to catch a cab to Brooklyn 2:40 PM Apr 4th from TwitterBerry

Everyone always complains about LA traffic, but NY traffic is worse, in my opinion 3:57 PM Apr 4th from TwitterBerry

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island weren't on my bucket list, but they've been checked off either way 11:25 AM Apr 5th from TwitterBerry

Gorgeous Spring night in NYC. Gotta soak it in now before the rain arrives. 5:58 PM Apr 5th from TwitterBerry

Bedtime 9:28 PM Apr 5th from TwitterBerry

It's a Museum of Natural History kind of day 9:51 AM Apr 6th from TwitterBerry

I've never eaten a canoli. New York seems like a good place for my first time. 7:07 PM Apr 6th from TwitterBerry

In Harlem, looking for some good soul food or Carribean food 10:47 AM Apr 7th from TwitterBerry

Yummy Caribbean food found--in Washington Heights! El Malecon for mofongo con camarones. 12:04 PM Apr 7th from TwitterBerry

Listening to live jazz music . . . makes me miss my hubby back home :( 9:54 PM Apr 7th from TwitterBerry

Mmmm, I love falafal 6:28 PM Apr 8th from TwitterBerry

'Cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields . . . tomorrow 9:55 PM Apr 8th from TwitterBerry

Looking for a restuarant with good salads in Brooklyn. Any recommendations? 1:40 PM Apr 10th from TwitterBerry

Last day in NY and it's a rainy one 9:12 AM Apr 11th from TwitterBerry

Um, I hope I don't miss my flight . . . 12:47 PM Apr 11th from TwitterBerry

By the way, my feet are soaking wet from this NYC rain 12:56 PM Apr 11th from TwitterBerry

Back in good ol' So Cal. So happy it's gonna be sunny and warm tomorrow :) 8:01 PM Apr 11th from TwitterBerry

~LOVE~

Squeeee!

This time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane (Virgin America, thankyouverymuch) heading to NYC. I can't wait to reunite with my BFF, Tanya, plus the Cal Poly Crew (Kenia, Danny, and Daisy).

~LOVE~

I Feel Better

Just so you know, I am feeling better about the whole "being rejected from grad school again" situation. I know I'm smart, I know I have a bright future ahead of me, and I know I have options. I just needed a little time to wallow in self-pity. Don't we all need that sometimes?

I suppose Vegas may have had something to do with it. One night of party-'til-you-black-out-kind of partying will do that for you (Don't worry, family members who might be reading this--I didn't actually black out, but I did wake up with a nasty hangover brought on by too much Hennessy). Actually, any Hennessy is too much Hennessy. Not.My.Drink.

I'm leaving for NYC on Saturday. I think I already miss Fernando, but the trip should be fun enough to make up for the missing him.

Items on the agenda for New York City:

• Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour
• Central Park (and Strawberry Fields)
• Central Park Zoo
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• The Guggenheim
• Hip Hop tour of Harlem (entitled "Walk This Way")
• Gothan Comedy Club
• MoMA
• Times Square
• walking the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge
• Staten Island Ferry
• Ground Zero
• lots of good food and drink

Sadly, I don't think I'll have time to see a Broadway show. My 10th grade self would totally punch me for saying that, but it's cool. My traveling companion doesn't have the funds for a Broadway show, so I'll have to save that for my next trip to NY (whenever that may be). And I'll be sure to bring Fernando along with me on the next trip.

~LOVE~

Time Line

When I was in sixth grade, my teacher gave us this assignment. We were to create a personal time line of our lives' events. The fun part of the assignment--we didn't just include past events--we got to include future events as we suspected them to happen. When I was finished with the project, I had created the time line of the perfect life. Aside from my past achievements (learning to walk, learning to speak), I predicted I would get my driver's license on my 16th birthday, I'd graduate from high school in 2002, I'd graduate from college in 2006, I'd graduate from veterinary school in 2010, and I'd be married the same year (to a man with a mustache). In 2012, I would give birth to twin girls, Jodi and Jasmine. Surely, I would retire sometime in the year 2049. I planned by death date one day short of my 100th birthday (I've always been one for irony).

I hung that time line up in my room for quite some time and I thought warmly of this perfect little future.

But life happens. I didn't get my driver's license until after my 17th birthday because I was always too busy with theater and church events to practice my driving. My high school graduation date was predetermined, but I wore a different color cap and gown from the picture I drew in 6th grade. I graduated from college in 2006 as predicted, but I didn't immediately go into veterinary (or any grad school for that matter) school. It's already 2009, but I'm already married. And he doesn't have a mustache.

I've just been rejected (again) for grad school. I'm old enough to know that life doesn't always follow the path that we'd like it to take, but I honestly feel very lost at the moment. I don't know what my next step should be.

Being rejected from school, when it's the thing you want most in the world at the moment, isn't just hard. It's soul crushing. I am listless. I have very little motivation. I feel out of control. When I found out, I threw on my running clothes and ran until my lungs burned and my heart was threatening to jump out of my chest. I got in my car and cranked the music so loud the windows shook. I drowned out my thoughts.

I'm seeking salvation. I could win the lottery. I could drink myself under the table. I could have a baby. I could write the great American novel. I could start my own business. Anything at this point to define myself and give my life purpose.

I'm blessed, I know. I have a loving husband who would jump through hoops of fire just to see me smile. I have a family who loves me despite everything. I have a roof over my head. But I still can't help feel like a failure. The time line still haunts me.

It's already 2009. How am I supposed to go to grad school, establish a career, and have twin baby girls before my 29th birthday?

~LOVE~

The Stars Align

So, as far as an update regarding my last post--my plum tree currently has about five tiny white blossoms on it. Nothing to report in regards to the peach tree. My lemon tree is COVERED is just-about-to-bud blossoms. I'll keep you all updated on that situation. My pomegranate tree has a few leaves on it now, too.

Last night, the stars aligned in the most amazing way. Both of my tutoring appointments were cancelled AND Fernando's class got cancelled. So after work, I stopped by Urban Home and ended up buying a kitchen table. It's counter-height, European-rustic looking, and comes with four sizable and comfortable chairs. It should be ready for pick-up next week. I am so excited to finally be getting a kitchen table. Now I get to pick out place mats! After paying for my table, I headed home. Fernando and I pulled into the driveway at the same time. We decided that in honor of our both being home early on a weekday, and the fact that it was still light outside, we were going to do a BBQ. We swung by Albertsons and bought some vittles. For dinner, we made Angus beef hamburgers with Muenster cheese, avocado, and all the fixings. We also threw some zucchini on the grille. It was a delicious dinner! We capped off the night with a new episode of The Office.

My grad school application has been into Cal State Long Beach for two weeks now. I still have at least four more weeks to wait until I discover my fate. If I do get in, my first day of classes will be August 31st. I have been charmed by the idea of going back to school. Mostly because this means I'll finally be able to quit my day job. If I get in, I think my last day will be August 1st. This will free me up to go camping with my family in August, a luxury I was going to miss if I kept working. I'll still going to be tutoring in the summer, so I think taking a whole month off will be financially do-able (not to mention a dream come true).

Two weeks from now, I'll be preparing to board a plane to Las Vegas for Yvonne's bachelorette party bonanza. I am thrilled about this mini-vacation. I'll be taking a half-day from work that Friday, and my dad has agreed to drop me off at the Burbank airport so I can catch my flight. All the girls are staying together at the Luxor. The first night will be the "official" party night with games and drinks and presents, followed by a night at the new LAX club inside the Luxor. The second night will be themed. All of us girls have been asked to wear "little black dresses." We're doing a nice sit-down dinner at the P.F. Chang's inside the Planet Hollywood and following that up with a night at the Pure nightclub inside of Caesar's Palace. This will be somewhat of a pricey weekend for me, but I've pre-paid for a lot of it (including my flight, hotel, outfits, gifts for Yvonne, etc) over the past couple of months, so I think the expenses incurred over the actual weekend won't get out of hand. As you can tell, I am very excited!

More house news--we're finally getting a washer and dryer on Monday! One of Fernando's vendors from work is having a crazy sale on scratch and dent pieces. We're only paying about $300 for a matching, front-loading washer/dryer combo! Also, we've decided to go ahead and re-do the smaller bathroom (the one attached to our bedroom). My dad already ripped out the sink and built-in cabinets. Even though we're loosing storage space, switching to a pedestal sink is going to make it seem a lot more luxurious. I'm thinking a white and soft mint/teal color combination will work well--a smooth transition from the taupe and white in our bedroom.

Did I mention that I'm less than a month away from my week-long trip to NYC? Not only do I get to see my BFF, Tanya, but I get to spend a week with Kenia. Also, my sorority sister, Daisy, will be in NYC the same week as me, so we're definitely going to spend some time together. And finally--Danny is going to fly into NYC for the first weekend that I'm going to be there. It will be a Cal Poly, SLO reunion in the middle of New York City!

~LOVE~

I Can Feel It

Spring is almost here (March 20th to be exact). The fruit trees in my backyard haven't started blooming yet and I'm beginning to worry. Shouldn't they be blooming now? I want plum tree blossoms--my favorite kind--they are white and smell like fruit.

My dad drove all the way to Long Beach today to drop off my grad school application. What a guy. Seriously though, I owe him dinner and a beer. He has proven once again his G-status. Actually, I owe a lot of people thank yous for helping with my application (Shelley, Jeannie, Dr. Clark, and Karen Herwig specifically). If I get into the program there, I'll have a fun, fun, fun, 110-mile long (round trip) car ride to look forward to a few times a week. Cross your fingers, folks!! If I don't get in, I'll probably cry, or go to bartending school. One or the other. Or both. Good thing I have Las Vegas and NYC to distract me during the next couple of weeks while I wait for word from CSULB.

Is anyone looking forward to Daylight Savings Time as much as me?

~LOVE~

The Economy . . .

. . . is so depressing. So many of my friends have been laid-off, been given pay-cuts, cuts to hours, etc. This is a shitty time in our nation's (and world's history).

Even my favorite talk radio station is getting reformatted into a non-talk radio station because spinning Jonas Brothers records is worth more than wit.

How much longer can we hang on?

~LOVE~

My Quarter Century Celebration(s)

Well, my 25th birthday has come and gone already, but the party is just beginning.

This past weekend I was up in SLO for the Upsilon Class crossover (we welcomed four new sisters into the familia), and I did a little pre-partying with Mona and Jennifer. Can I tell you how much I adore Mona and Jenn? They are seriously my “roll-dawgs 4 life.” They are always down to party and get crazy. On Friday night, I met up with Mona and we kept it chill. We went to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop in Arroyo Grande and then spent the rest of the night watching TV at her house in Guadalupe. The next morning, Mona cooked me breakfast and then we ventured into Santa Maria to go shopping at our favorite spot, Fashion Max. It’s a Santa Maria staple where you can find inexpensive clothes for going out. Kinda like Forever 21, except more ghetto. I can always find something there and for not a lot of money. After the mall, we decided we needed to get our nails done, so we went to this nail place across the street. Mona got acrylic nails, but I opted for the simpler manicure. For only $11, you can’t say no. A little, old Asian man gave me my manicure. The arm/hand massage they give as part of the manicure is worth the $11 already, but the rest of the manicure was just as nice. I went with a red color that actually ended up matching my Blackberry almost exactly.

After we got out nails done, we stopped at Rite-Aid to grab some champagne to gift to Jennifer. Jennifer was in the process of moving out of her apartment and moving in with her boyfriend, Eric, on Saturday, and we felt bad that we weren’t helping her move. Champagne makes up for it, I think. So we made the drive up to SLO and met Jenn at her apartment in time to help her with the last stage of moving (packing up her car and putting stuff in her storage unit). Afterwards, we grabbed dinner at Mondeo’s (one of my favorite restaurants in SLO), and then starting getting ready for our night out. I wore the new shirt I picked up at Fashion Max earlier in the day. We met up at Eric’s apartment and cracked open the bottle of champagne. Seeing as Jenn was in the process of moving in to an apartment filled with boys, all we had to drink out of were Slurpee Cups. That’s right, we drank Korbel out of Slurpee cups. So classy. Just like Mona, Jenn, and myself. Then it was off to downtown. Our first stop was Downtown Brew (DTB), where Mona bought me a Tokyo Tea. It wasn’t too good, so I only drank about half of it. I think we were there for about half an hour dancing before we got a text message from Jenn’s friend, Q, to meet him at The Library (a bar). No matter how many times I go to “the bars” in SLO, we always end up at The Library. Jennifer bought me a beer at The Library for my birthday because I was already feeling the drink I had at DTB. I guess the pre-drinking of champagne caught up with me. Either way, by the end of the night, I was ready to go.

My Roll-Dawgs

My growing family

We stopped at Eric’s house to rest a bit before heading to Pismo Beach for the crossover. The ceremony went smoothly and it was cool to meet the newest generation of sisters. My family grew once again. One of Evelyn’s other little sisters gained a new little sister. It was cool to take pictures of the whole family—it’s rare that we all get together (because we’re so big!). The party afterward was pretty mild. The next morning, a bunch of us got together in SLO for breakfast at Margie’s Diner. Tasty food. Evelyn, myself, and Maria finally got on the road around 12:30pm to head back to So Cal. I was pretty tired from the trip back. I was relieved to get home. I took a hot shower, threw on my PJs, and spent the rest of the day on the couch with Fernando watching the Superbowl and the new episode of The Office afterwards. When The Office was over, I said goodnight to Fernando and I’m pretty sure I was asleep before 9pm!

This week has been okay. Things are still really slow at work, which makes doing the work of two people not that challenging. I’m trying not to stress out too much about the future of my company. I know the owner would be really devastated if we had to shut things down. The business is his brain child. Still—if they have to let another person go, I’m pretty sure I’ll be the next to go. Even though I’ve been here longer than our bookkeeper, no one can do what our bookkeeper does. My boss knows how to do all the things I do—and even though I know she’d be beyond busy doing my job, the administrative jobs, and her job, she’d be able to do it. Even though I hate my job—I need it for the health benefits, so please send good thoughts/vibes/prayers my way (or my company’s way).

So my birthday was yesterday and my Blackberry was blowing up with calls, texts, Myspace Comments, and Facebook comments. Thanks to any and all of you who wished me a happy birthday. I didn’t pressure myself into thinking I had to have fun on my birthday, so I wasn’t disappointed by the lack of fun. I worked, Fernando went to school, I tutored, I did a little shopping, and I watched LOST and Top Chef. Fernando came home with a tiny little container of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream with a candle in it, as well as a card, and my gift. All three seasons of Three Sheets on DVD. I’m so psyched about my gift. It was exactly what I wanted.

So now I’m just focusing on closing out the week. Neda is supposed to stop by for a visit on Friday to check out our new house. On Saturday, I will sleep in, then do a little bit of shopping (I have some birthday coupons to use), and then prepare for dinner with the family at Buca di Beppo. Sunday morning, Fernando and I will be waking up super early to pack and leave for San Francisco. Our flight leaves LAX around 9am, so we need to get to Van Nuys flyaway early enough to park, catch the tram, and check-in for our flight.

I’m so stoked for my birthday trip. Kenia has helped me plan a weekend full of fun activities. I can’t wait!!

~LOVE~

25 Random Things About Random Me

I posted this on Facebook, but here it is again:

1. I have been writing in journals/diaries since I was in 4th grade. I started "online journaling" back in high school. I have journals and blogs sprinkled all over the internet. Try to find them!

2. I graduated from Cal Poly, SLO with a bachelor's degree in English with Honors. I looooooooved being an English major, but my degree is pretty much useless since I don't want to be a teacher.

3. I'm in the process of applying to grad school at Cal State Long Beach. The program I'm trying to get into is master's in counseling. The name of my concentration is "Student Development in Higher Education." My dream job would be to be the Greek Advisor to an entire university.

4. I'm a sister of Sigma Omega Nu--I'm about to celebrate my 6 year anniversary as a sister. I've met my friends for life through the organization. I have an amazing big sister, two wonderful little sisters, four of the most incredible line sisters (You shouldda been a LAMBDA!), two pledge classes full of bad-ass pledge-babies (FXis and HFMS), and tons more amazing sister-friends.

5. I've already met my soul-mate. I got lucky because I met him back when I was just 18. We got married on October 21st, 2006 and life has been so great since then. I laugh everyday because of him.

6. I think some of the greatest inventions of all time are DVRs and Blackberrys.

7. When I get bored, I tend to online shop. It's a bad habit.

8. I'm a self-taught wine expert.

9. I would LOVE to go to bartending school.

10. If I won the lotto, the first thing I would buy is an RV.

11. I love animals, especially cats. The only reason I'm not a crazy cat lady already is because my husband is allergic to cats. That's okay. We have a chinchilla named Chipotle. She's a total bitch, but I love her anyways.

12. I currently have no desire to have children. I mean, yeah, I want children, but not NOW. Get back to me in 3 years.

13. I just bought a house--it's pretty dope. I hope to host all my friends and family there at some point. We have two guest bedrooms and I'm decorating them so our guests feel like they are on vacation when they visit. Like at a B&B or hotel.

14. Most people don't know that I love rap and hip-hop music, but I do. It's all I have on my iPod. I especially love older rap/hip-hop. I love me some Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, etc . . .

15. I have always secretly wanted to be a barista at Starbucks.

16. I worked at Magic Mountain for about five years off and on while in high school and college. I hated my job, but loved my co-workers at Six Flags Photo Service. I have such fond memories of working there and all the friends I made. Saturday night pizza parties, goofing off in second booth, Lava Monster, etc . . . fun times. Photos ARE better than funnel cake.

17. I'm not a very good cook, but I make awesome spaghetti.

18. I grew up in a "low fat/low cal" household. So I prefer non-fat Ranch dressing to the full-fat kind (the full-fat kind basically makes me want to barf). I also prefer margarine to butter. I can feel the fat coating my tongue. Oh, the same goes for whole and skim milk. Whole milk can suck it.

19. I eat a Lean Cusine for lunch pretty much everyday--not because I'm on a diet or anything--just because I have a really short lunch break, and they are easy to cook and tasty to eat and MUCH cheaper than eating out.

20. I tutor privately during the week. I have two really great clients. I love my "night job."

21. I've been an extra in three movies--Boys and Girls, Little Nicky, and Rat Race. When I got Freddie Prinze Jr's autograph, I gave it away to my best friend, Neda. When I got Seth Green's autograph, I gave it away to my friend Ann. But when I got Adam Sandler's autograph, I kept it for myself. Actually, he signed two things for me--his comedy CD, "What The Hell Happened to Me?" and my VHS copy of "SNL: The Best of Adam Sandler."

22. I LOVE stand-up comedy. Most of my celebrity crushes and favorite comedians got their start in stand-up.

23. I know a lot of useless trivia. It's kinda my trademark. So much so that I have to "maintain" my body of knowledge by DVRing Jeopardy everyday, as well as The Cash Cab.

24. I cut coupons regularly and I join internet mailing lists all the time so I get lots of coupons and special offers. I very rarely buy things without a coupon.

25. My guilty pleasure is reading wedding-related blogs. I probably look at more wedding blogs these days than when I was planning my own wedding. I think about starting my own event planning business occassionally (J. Star Productions), but mostly satisfy my desire by planning my own parties or parties for my friends.

~LOVE~

When Does This End?

My officemate got laid off today. She was our administrative assistant. Essentially, she took on all my old duties after I got promoted. While I did find her annoying on a personal level, I'm really sad for her. She really needed this job. She was still living at home (she graduated high school the same year as me) and was getting back into classes at COC.

Since business has slowed way down, I think that I will be able to manage both my old administrative duties, as well as my newer "Operations" duties, but I still feel down about her loss.

Her getting laid off followed an announcement a couple weeks ago that we all had to take temporary 10% pay-cuts. I have not been given word as to whether I will get that 10% back now that I'm gonna do the work of two people. Hopefully, I do.

We make our first house payment on February 1st!

~LOVE~

Stainless

I think I already mentioned that Fernando and I went ahead and bought a new, Frigidaire stove for our kitchen in stainless steel. We got it through his job at Pacific Sales and we're getting a nice little discount on it.

Our stove

Well, we also needed a new dishwasher, so we were thinking about getting this one Bosch dishwasher that was on sale at Fernando's work, but I balked at the handle because it didn't match the handle on the stove we just bought. So Fernando worked it out for us to get the matching Frigidaire dishwasher. Still a good price through his work.

Our dishwasher--so sleek

Notice the matching handle

So, I was content. The dishwasher and stove were stainless and they matched. All was right with the world. Well--almost. Our old refrigerator was white, but I was happy with just "making it work" until we had more money saved up. Our "old" fridge is actually only as old as our marriage (just over two years), so it works great and looks fine. Then Fernando sent me a text message yesterday telling me that he could get a great deal on the matching Frigidaire refrigerator if we bought all three pieces together. For about $2000, we're getting the fridge, the stove, and the dishwasher--all matching. The price includes extended warranties and delivery. Also, through Fernando's work, we're financing them interest free for 18 months, which means if we pay just $120 a month for the next 18 months, we'll pay them off with no interest. Also, we're getting a $200 rebate from Frigidaire, and the electric company will also give us a credit since the fridge is an EnergyStar appliance. Not bad at all. I told Fernando, "How can we say no?" and the deal was done.

The coup de grace-our new fridge

Our stove was already delivered last week and we're getting the dishwasher and refrigerator delivered on Saturday! I believe we will be handing the old fridge down to Fernando's mom, who probably couldn't afford a new fridge on her own. At least we know a person who really needs it is getting it.

With those deliveries, our kitchen will pretty much be complete. We finished lining the cabinets and unpacking all our dishes last night. Since we've upgraded to a bigger kitchen, there are actually a lot of cabinets that are empty, but I suppose that's what upgrading and home ownership is all about--finding a bigger place for all the new crap you will accumulate in life. Fun.
~LOVE~

Our Kitchen

We probably did the most work in our kitchen--we demo'd pretty much every wall and hung new drywall, we bought a new, stainless steel oven/range and a new, stainless steel dishwasher, we sanded, primed, and painted the cabinets Behr's "Olivine," as well as added all new brushed nickel and chrome hardware, we laid tile, we installed a new window, and we have plans for a new light fixture. In the distant future, we'd like to redo the counters with granite, and put up a new backsplash in either mosaic glass tile or subway tile. That's in the DISTANT future though. In true Jessica fashion, I had to create a mood board for the kitchen as well (no room will go unplanned!). Check it out:

The design scheme for this room was inspired by the olive green color I chose for the cabinets and the stainless steel we chose for the hardware on the cabinets and the appliances. I call it "Contemporary European Bistro." The modern elements are the stainless steel appliances, hardware, and accessories and the idea to do pendant lights. The European infleuneces will come in with the artwork and type of activities we will use the kitchen for. I love to entertain--I love wine, dirty martinis, sitting around and sipping coffee with friends, and I love the idea of Spanish tapas or appetizers and drinks. I want to display my wine bottles and assorted glassware. I've been collecting corks from wine bottle since I got married, and I do eventually plan to craft my own wreath out of corks. Finally, I'm pretty sure I'd like to go with a smaller, counter height table in a dark wood color. Fernando and I rarely eat at the table (we generally set out the TV trays and watch Jeopardy together for dinner), so this would be more for looks and occassionally entertaining freinds. The added height from a counter height table will allow guests to see the TV in our living room while they are seated and enjoying food and drinks. Oh, and a lazy susan in the middle of the table will make it easier for sharing all those tasty tapas!

~LOVE~

Two More

Living Room

This is the mood board for our large living room. Since our house doesn't have a fireplace, we have a lot of room to work with. The main inspiration for this room is "Cupidon" by Bougereau. I became transfixed by his painting--isn't it gorgeous? The couch you see in the upper-lefthand corner is the couch we ordered from Overstock.com. It's tan chenille (super soft). The walls are painted a soft, sky blue color. To set off the tan couch and blue walls, I want to go with a soft green for extra chairs in the main sitting area. I'm feeling more of a tug towards a chocolate brown rug (since the tile in the living room is light). I think the darker rug will really outline the sitting area and make it more cozy. If I go with a dark rug, I want a light colored "cocktail ottoman." The couch we ordered doesn't have recliners, so we need a place to put our feet up. To tie all the soft colors together, I want modern silver lamps and lots of candles and glass candle holders. Finally, at some point in the future, I want to replace the sliding glass doors with French doors, and will cover them up with sheer curtains to allow all the natural sunlight to float through. We don't really need privacy curtains since our backyard faces a hill.

Home Office

This is the mood board for our home office, which is the first room you really seen when you enter our house. I have always loved the combination of yellow and gray, so I went with it. Since this is space that Fernando and I will share, it can't be too feminine, so I'm sticking with a fairly heavy-handed contemporary feel. I'm pretty sure I'll be buying that L-shaped desk from IKEA--it's perfect. Modern and spacious. Enough room for our computer, as well as writing desk space. I want two different chairs. A black leather one for Fernando, and a softer one for me in white or yellow. We want to do a reading nook as well--a comfy chair with an ottoman. I want one entire wall to be taken up with bookcases for that "built-in" look. The art on the walls will be sitting on "floating" shelves. I want to have one of my architect friends draw a pencil sketch of our house from the outside, so we can frame it and mount it in there. And as a bonus, it becomes a lovely family heirloom. We can always remember our first home, no matter where we may roam.

~LOVE~

Inspiration

Ah, heck--I'm bored at work. So I feel like posting my "mood boards" for the three bedrooms in our house. Since we're not ballers, we have to buy little pieces of each room at a time. To keep myself on target with my ultimate goal for each rooms' decor, I created these mood boards. And without further ado . . .

Master Bedroom

For our master bedroom, we painted the walls Behr's "Classic Taupe." Our carpet will be white, and we have bright white baseboards. In the future, I want to finish off the look of the room with classic white crown moulding. Nothing classier in my opinion. For the color scheme, I see a mix of chocolate browns, creams, golds, sage and olive greens, and light browns. Some of the elements in this board that I am "stuck on" are mounting a flat screen TV on the wall, a tall chest of drawers, a photo collage, a sleigh bed, indoor plants/flowers, and ceiling-to-floor curtains.

Guest bedroom #1: The Sunshine Room

In the smaller guest bedroom, I painted the walls Behr's "Sweet Apricot" color. The choice of hue was inspired by the inside of a conch shell. I want the entire room to convey a feeling of a sunny day on the shore of one of the Florida keys. Colors include lime green, lemon yellow, orange, coral, white, and touches of tan. For artwork, I want to frame vintage travel posters, and mount conch shells in white shadow boxes. All fabrics need to be crisp--linen and seersucker. And how awesome would it be to have a surfboard leaning casually in one of the corners?

Guest Bedroom #2: The Ocean Room

In the larger guest bedroom, we painted the walls Behr's "Winter Surf" which is a dark teal color. While the Sunshine Room is supposed to be all about the shore, the Ocean Room is all about what happens beneath the water's surface. I originally wanted to go with just black, white, and teal, but I decided to add graphic pops of red after seeing these awesome pictures of red coral and red starfishes. This room will have a distinctly modern feel to it. I imagine black laquer furniture that is softened by a stark white, goose-down comforter and tons of black, white, teal, and red pillows. For the art on the walls, I see black and white photos of the ocean, and black and white ink and paper sketches of items found underwater like sea horses, coral, sand dollars, and the lion fish. Finally, I want my grandma to make me some custom curtains out of black and white damask with a border of that red and white polka dot print.

~LOVE~

Welcome, 2009!

I never update this thing, but you should know, Fernando and I bought a house (with the help of my parents, of course). We haven't moved in yet because we're in the middle of renovations, but we should finally be living there in a few more weeks.

Vasquez Manor

~LOVE~