Aaron's Ex's

So as you may have read, Aaron was working on Saturday. ALthough he does an amazing job, I did start to get a little bit bored after a few hours. I was snooping around on Aaron's computer and would you believe that he still has pictures of his old girlfriends. Man, he is in t-r-o-u-b-l-e!! I forwarded the pics to myself before I deleted them. Here are some of them. Man these girls are UGLY!! Good ridance!

My Wonderful Weekend (featuring Aaron's slide)

Words cannot express what happened to me this weekend. But I guess "I'm engaged!" is a good start. There was so much that happened so just stay with me....

Christmas Eve:
7:00a Left from Dallas to San Angelo
11ish Arrived in San Angelo and began to play with Lexie Joy
6:30p Christmas Eve Service at SRC, went to Wita's, ate and started to open presents
10:45p Aaron arrives at Wita's!!!
12:45 I'm engaged!

Christmas Day:
9:00a We ate breakfast at Wita's. He likes oj with lots of pulp, i like it with no pulp, but i already knew that. I made eggs for Aaron for the first time :)
9:15a Aaron throws up.....just kidding.
12:00p Went to my mom's mom's house - Here Aaron had a blast getting to know my aunt and grandma.
4:00p Went to Jerry's parents house (jerry is my stepdad)
5:30p Went back to wita's, a bunch of the fam went out to eat, looking at Christmas lights, and then back to Wita's. We played Apples to apples and it was HILARIOUS!
12:00a Polished my nails

Friday:
9:00a Breakfast at Wita's again, yum. Aaron likes beans, but not for breakfast (already knew that too!)
10:30 Had to go back to my mom's mom's because mom wanted to give us some tamales, holla!
10:55 We meet Magaly, Miriam and Cami at Starbucks. Aaron fell in LOVE with Cami.
12:30 We leave for San Antonio!

4:00p We went straight to Mi Tierra (where we ate on our first date). Miracle: We were seated less than 10 minutes after arriving, our food was out in 15 min.
5:00p Went to the Riverwalk. Aaron took me shopping. This is where we took the most pics
9:00p Left San Antonio to Go to Corpus
11:15p Arrived completely tired!

Saturday:
8:45a Aaron pics me up to go to work! ugh!! go to sams first, then Old Navy- bought me more clothes. (i only brought winter stuff and it was so hot there!)
12:00p Bought lunch for Aaron and his dad.
12:00- 6:00p Watched Aaron at work. He is amazing!!
7:15p Left with Aaron and his Dad to Premont, TX to meet his dads side- so fun!
12:00 Left Premont. I was embarrassed bc i was alseep with my mouth open in the car.

Sunday:
8:42 Aaron comes to pick me up. Told him that he sd 8:45 and i needed more time.
8:45 Got in the car to go to church. Hey, every minute counts!
10:00 Pastors wife annouces our engagement to the Spanish congregation
11:30 Aaron announces our engagement to the English congregation, then preaches! whoa
1:00 Aaron takes me to La Playa to eat a Fried Avacado!! in heaven!
2:00 Went to the mall and to visit Freddie (aaron's uth pastor) at the church fireworks stand
4:45 Aaron drops me off at the airport :(
8:15 Arrive back in Dallas!

It's going to take me a while to take in all of the events of this weekend. It was so memorable! We are so excited!

The Finest Christmas

On Christmas Eve I drove to San Angelo, Texas to visit Araceli and her family. I left right after work and arrived at about 10:30 pm. That night was the best night of my life. I proposed to Araceli in a rather special way. She said, "Yes!" and then after several minutes couldn't remember if she said yes. That was funny.

The whole week was an event that was enchanting and special. I left San Angelo with my Christmas present, Cheli. We drove to San Antonio and spent the afternoon there with each other while enjoying all of the sights and sounds. It was spectacular!

I am absolutley convinced that Araceli and I are going to be so happy growing together and loving together. We are so excited...

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!! SO ExCiTeD!!!!!!

Tomorrow I get to see Aaronsito!!! I can't wait. I haven't seen him in over two months. Thats kind of a long time!! This Christmas is going to be such a special one for us! I wish I could just put it on the front page of the DMN!

I'm leaving first thing in the morning. I'm looking forward to the Christmas Eve service at SRC. Then dinner and watching my fam opening presents at Wita's, then Aaron comes in!!! I really can't wait!!

I did a little photoshopping to this pic, but you can hardly notice I'm sure. See everyone in a few hours!!!

Introducing Ava Rose Ramirez

Aaron is an uncle! That's right, he is aka Uncle Aaron. Miss Ava Rose came into the world at 11:36am on December 20th, 2008. She was welcomed by her mommy Angela Ramirez and her daddy Mat Ramirez. Aaron's mom was able to travel to Seattle to be there for the birth of her first grandchild. Mat and Angela are living in Seattle because Mat is in the Navy. Today they celebrate their 2 year anniversary. Congrats guys! Can't wait to meet Ava Rose in person.

Christmas Sunday

Today we had our English and Spanish Christmas Production, "Manger of Grace." It was awesome! In our English Service at 11:30 AM we had 140 people in service which is awesome especially because we've just started the English service about 14 months ago. We normally have about 50 which is the average attendance, but today was awesome to see all of those pews full of visitors.

Tonight at 6 PM was the Spanish Service and that was awesome as well. We filled up the sanctuary tonight with people and worship.

I just want to say Merry Christmas to everybody keeping track of us here on our blog. I cannot wait to see everyone this week at Christmas. Goodnight.

Somebody Elses Bad Dream

I got up this morning to go shopping with my dad. (tia yaya had to work) I met him in the kitchen and we started chit-chatting. Then he suddenly starts laughing and says, "Oh! I had a dream about you and Aaron last night. It was so funny!" Immediately, a red flag goes up. Anytime dad laughs at something that's funny to him, 99.9 percent of the time it's not funny to me. He goes on to explain, "I had a dream that we were in San Angelo and you came into the room and you were so excited that Aaron had just proposed to you. I mean, you were going on and on. You were really excited. In the middle of all of that me and Tia Yaya saw the ring, and it was ugly. It was so ugly! It looked like an oval with these little diamonds on the side. It was so bad! And me and your Tia Yaya just looked at each other and she was saying, 'Lionel, you better not say anything!' But man, I really wanted to tell you, 'Cheli, it's ugly!' but your Tia Yaya kept saying, 'Lionel, you better not!' So after a while you calmed down and then you noticed that the ring was ugly. And after that you got upset. Aaron was in the room, and he looked sad and we could all tell that you were not happy with him for getting you an ugly ring. So I went to Aaron and said, 'Come on, Aaron. Let's talk.' But yeah, it was an really ugly ring! It looked like an armadillo or something. Ha ha ha......."

Um, not funny! OK, I'm going to be very honest. I'm kinda nervous about the ring. I have no idea what it looks like, but I do know that I trust Aaron's good taste and style, but then again I'm nervous. Aaron has told me several times that I'm going to love the ring. SO, everyone just delete this bad dream from the record. I will not allow my dad's dream to legitimize my fear.

But just in case.... armadillo's are kinda cute, right?

If Mom Says No, Ask Grandma.

Last night as you may know, I went to go see my grandparents. These are my dad's parents. I was really nervous about what they had to say because not long after I called them and told them about my plans for Araceli and I, my grandmother called me and asked me to drive to Aransas Pass and pay them a visit. DA DA DUM... Let me just say that I have been really busy this week and last night was no different. Because I got home late again last night, Araceli and I haven't had a chance to talk about it so... you're just going to have to wait and see what happened at grandpa and grandmas house. I need to talk to Araceli about it first. -aaron

(The two beautiful ladies pictured here are my mom's mom on the left and the lady on the right is my dad's mom...yeah, that's her. She's cute, but don't let that grandma face fool you.)

Esperando por Aaronsito

Aaron called his grandparents one night last week or a couple of weeks ago. He talked to Grandma Gutierrez, his dad's mom. Since his grandma was the one that picked up the phone, he spoke with her about his plans to get engaged soon. They had a great chat. I don't have all the details on that one. I'm not sure how long they were talking, but I don't think it was very long or very short either. He just basically called, checked up on them and then told her about his plans. WELL, she called him earlier this week and asked him to go to their house, which is about 30 minutes away, for a visit. So our wheels started racing. What do they want to talk to him about? Did she have a dream about us where our kids were super hairy? So he went tonight and he's been over there for like 4 hours already. I'm thinking, "Man, this lady stays up late!" He can't even sneak away to text me even a little bit of information?What are they talking about!?!?! Is she telling Aaron secret family recipes? Are they teaching him the correct way to mow the lawn after your married? I want to call but then I wonder, "Are they praying? Are they looking at family pictures? Is she making him a taco?" I just want to know what they wanted to talk to him about?? I'm sure it's marriage stuff, but ugh, just give me a little info. Throw a girl a bone here!

Dad Gutierrez, PI

Aaron here. My day started very early today. I was up at the crack of dawn driving to the shop to make a very large order: 12 large fruit trays that serve 35 people each.... to be picked up by 9:30am. Whew!!! By the end of the day, I was really tired. Oh yeah, something funny happened today.

We just had CallerId installed at the shop so that we can screen calls before we answer them. Sometimes we get suspicious phone calls that sound like our competitors down the street. These "curious customers" will call just asking for prices and information. Well, today the phone rang and dad answered. He normally doesn't work at the shop, but since my mom is out of state right now, my dad is helping out. So today when the phone rang, he picked up, answered a few questions and then hung up. He then writes down the number that he thinks called. He comes to the back of the shop where I am and says, "Aaron, a customer called asking a few questions and they seemed... suspicious. I wrote down their number. Do you know this number?" I looked at it for a few seconds and thought to myself, "I know this number." Then it hit me. "DAD! It's your number!!!" My dad was about to start this huge investigation on his own cell phone number! Oh well, he'll figure out how to work the CallerId eventually. Well, that was the highlight of the day.

A Night in the Homeless Shelter.....Almost

The homless shelter. That's where I almost slept tonight. My Tia Yaya was making a Christmas card on the computer (of course, it's her speciality!), my dad was watching tv, and I was sitting quietly in a corner praying to de Lord for strenngthhh. After dad came down from upstairs, my tia yaya sweetly asked, "I want a tortilla." So my dad gets the tortillas out of the frig and turns up the one of the burners. (they're electric btw) My dad puts the flat cookware on the stove and starts telling tia yaya that the Christmas card that she is making for his boss is too wordy. He wants it to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Tia Yaya wants the card to say something like, " May this Holiday Season be filled with Joy and Peace....bla bla bla." All of a sudden my dad says, "Something smells funny." He immediately turned around and picked up the pan. When he did, we saw white smoke, and smelled a foul burning smell.......a lot of smell. Come to find out, in some weird way, a pot holder was stuck to the bottom of the pan and my dad never saw it. What is really weird is that my dad rinsed the pan with water and dryed it off before he used it, and he still didn't see the pot holder. So we put the pan outside so that it could cool off and stink off before we threw it away. We also left the door open so that we could get rid of the nasty smell. Um, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yeah, it's cold outside. So we're inside with the door open and the fan on. Below you'll find a picture of the burned pot holder stuck to the pan, the open door, and my Tia Yaya chillin on the couch. So in the end, Tia Yaya had a peanut butter and jelly foldover, and my dad had the Christmas card for his boss.........Mr. Burns!!!

(He's looking toward the pan cool off area. His face says it all)

Catch Up Time....

I forgot to do a lunch blog today! I think i'm going to discontinue those anyway. It's too hard to remember to do those. Plus, I need to work on my social skills. I just had a ramen noodle today. Blah. There's only one thing more worse than ramen noodles.......cup o'noodle. Hey, I have my standards! However, I did make dinner tonight.

Tia Yaya says: "It was delicious. The texture of the noodles was perfect. The taste of the spices was perfect. It was so good that it made me want a glass of wine, and I don't drink wine!" Araceli's Note: She did drink a beer. Rootbeer.

Dad says : "There was a hint of oregano. The sauce was not too tart nor too flat. It was GOOT!" Araceli's Note: Dad ends certain words with a "t". No reason.

Lunch Break with Araceli

Today for lunch I had: Pasta from Pizza Hut (chicken alfredo-leftovers)

Ingredients:
Pasta
Chicken
Alfredo Sauce
Goodness and Wonderfulness

Another Day Closer

Well, Cheli and I are very excited about seeing each other this Christmas. Cheli, I can't wait. You know, sometimes it feels like I'm just living to get to the next day. All I know is that I am one day closer to seeing Araceli. I can't wait...

I'll never forget the 30 mile walk that our church youth group did . We invited Araceli to be our guest speaker at our church the next day (Sunday morning). Let me just say that the Lord touched me that morning :) I had never nor will I ever see another woman as beautiful as Cheli get behind a pulpit, take a platform, or walk into a room. I had to wait six months from the day I met her in order to get the opportunity to have her at my church. I knew that I had to let her know somehow that I was interested in her. I'll let Cheli finish this thought for you...

On This Day in History with commentary by Araceli

1787- Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Araceli's Notes: After the the Black Plague (aka the Bubonic Plague) spread in Europe in the 1300's via rats, the US wanted to make sure that each state was completely ratified.

1870- Joseph Rainey took his seat as the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives. Araceli's Notes: Historians are still not sure where he took it.

1930- The Mona Lisa was recovered in Florence after having been stolen two years earlier (August 1911) from the Louvre. Araceli's Notes: Although the Mona Lisa woman has no eyebrows, she is very valuable. Note to self: Quit plucking, it doesn't add value.

1963- Kenya gained its independence from Britain. Araceli's Note: After using 400 billion gallons to remove the Brits from Kenya, Gain was also found to be a great laundry detergent.

1999-The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth and final article of impeachment against President Clinton. Araceli's Note: And you thought you had the most embarrassing moment. Yikes!

2000- The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the presidential election recount in Florida. Araceli's Note: "I SAID.....YOU CAN STOP COUNTING GRANDMA! IT'S OVER!"

2001-Yasir Arafat closed the offices of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Araceli's Note: I only know how to spell five words in this sentence.

Lunch Break with Araceli

So today's lunch activity was as equally boring as yesterday. Today I sat by myself in the break room and watched ESPN. But before I made it back there, i had 3 co-workers asking about my upcoming engagement. The word is spreading!......... not THE word, the other word.

For lunch I had:

2 Slices of Pepperoni Pizza Hut Pizza (last night)
Ingredients:
Pizza

Lunch Break with Araceli

So, not much to write home about today, just a pretty normal day. Aaron has been working on some website stuff for the business, but I'll let him tell you about that. Well, lets get right to it.....

Today I ate: leftover Garlic Chicken and Fried Rice from Yummy Eggroll
Ingredients:
Chicken
Garlic Sauce
Fried Rice
Unrecognizable "Veggies"
MSG

When I ordered this plate, it had a little chili pepper next to it. I normally don't eat hot food, but I managed to eat it last night and it was spicy, but still good. However, as leftovers, it wasn't as spicy. Here's a great science experiment. Does spicy food lose it's heat when eaten after being refrigerated and reheated? ............GOOGLE!!!

Today is a Significant Day

Well, most of you know that Aaron and I are planning our wedding. Here's the 411. The last time that I went to Corpus was for the Labor Day weekend a few months ago. After church on Sunday morning, we went with a group of people from church to eat at this restaurant call La Playa which translates to "a female player". Regardless of the questionable name, they have great food. After lunch ,Aaron and I were talking, and the topic of engagement just came up out of no where. We just sat there in that moment, smiled at each other and said, "Ok. Let's work towards that." After my trip to Corpus, Aaron and I started talking to our family members about us planning our engagement. We made plans for Aaron to come pick me up in Dallas in October in order to take me to San Angelo to ask my mom for my hand and to talk to my Dad to ask for my hand (I guess the other one, not sure). Fortunately, I had my four wisdom teeth pulled the day before Aaron arrived, so i was too drugged to be nervous. I did know that it was good news when my Dad came home from talking with Aaron and called for me saying, "Cheli! Look what I drug off the street." My mom on the other hand said, "Congratulations, Cheli. Aaron asked for your hand, but told him 'Just take the whole thing!" Welcome to my world, Aaron. Welcome to my world.....

So back to the headline. Today is significant because we really want to get married on October 10th, 2009.

If this date is possible, that means that it will be 10 months from TODAY.

Ten months, only ten months. wow.............

Brrrr....

Whoa. Let me say that today was freaking' COLD... I woke up this morning to the drip, drip, drip of rain on my window. I bundled up, put my sweater on and off the restaurant supply store to pick up a chef coat for work. After I got to work this morning, I got to working on the website for our shop. It was pretty quiet today so I really got a lot of stuff done today. I didn't get to eat any lunch today so I am pretty hungry. I feel like eating chicken teriyaki with steamed vegetables. Or maybe a club sandwich...

I was at the church earlier working on a middle school level project for Bible School. (yawn).  I don't really like to work in groups. I prefer to work on my own. But our professor thought that it would be a "great idea." Anyway, I am just going to do my part and then just trust that everyone elso does theirs. We will see. Well, I need to call Araceli so "goodnight to all, and to all a goodnight." - aaron

Lunch Break with Araceli

Okay, I'm a little late with today's lunch blog, but there's this girl in the office that emailed and said, "Hey what time is your lunch?" Instead of saying, "12:15, but I like to eat bymyself because I'm anti-social.", I said, "12:15. I brought my lunch today, wanna join?" I'm glad I said that because she told me she had been eating lunch by herself in her office. :( She had asked me one time if I wanted to get some starbucks one day, but I said, "Naw. I'm not really all that into it." That was about a month ago, and today I realized maybe she's was trying to be my friend. hmmm, go figure.

so anyway.....here we go

For lunch I ate a BLT Sandwhich
Ingredients:
Bread
Bacon
Lettuce
Tomatoe
=
Yumminess

I'm Going to be an Uncle

I never thought that I would ever have to say this but I am going to be an uncle. I have a younger sister who lives in Bremerton, WA. She is married to Mat, a Navy submariner (he's the guy that pushes the button; don't tell anyone, cause that's TOP SECRET). She is due the week of Christmas. We are pretty excited. 

Well I just got back from Bible School and it was crazy. Three hours of the Book of Acts. Did you know that for the longest time this book didn't have an author, but they are now saying Luke is the author? Pretty cool, huh? Well, that's all I have for ya'll tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas. Goodnight.

Enter to WIN!!!

I think I have a problem. As I ignore my family who are vigorously shaking their heads yes, I'll explain. I like surprises and I like to win. Now, I got a C in college math, but if I'm doing this correctly, this means..... Surprises + Winning = Winning a Surprise.
I am almost obsessive about winning prizes. I think I have the christian version of gambling addiction. In the words of my mentor Nacho Libre, "I wan to wien!" Sometimes when I'm listening to the radio here in Dallas, I imagine the different phrases I would use when they tell me I am the twelfth caller. "I can't believe it!" "Mom, I won!" "Thank you, you guys are the best!" ect. Sometimes, when I'm in the checkout line at the store, I imagine that I'm their 1 millionth customer. Lights go off, confetti comes down and a big banner falls down from the ceiling that says 'Congratulations, Araceli B Hernandez! You're our 1,000,000 Customer!' I actually don't really care what I win, I just want to win something one day! SO, today I went to ever trusty Google, typed in 'Enter to win' and filled out about ten to twelve contest. I'm expecting a lot of spam in my inbox and junk mail in the mail box, but it will all be worth it when I win!! For everyone who leaves a comment, I will pass along a generous gift from my winnings. ($3 gift card to the restaurant of your choice) Must be 18 years or older to qualify. -Araceli

Lunch Break with Araceli

Well as all five of you readers know, I work at BlueFishTV. I thank God for my job because not only does God use this place to provide for me, but I'm also able to be a part of ministries in over 100,000 churches nationwide. How'd ya like to add that to your resume!

Anyway, one major reason that I love my job is because it helps pastors to communicate powerful truths. Every Wednesday we do an 'email blast' to all of our customers to let them know about the lastest and greatest. This week, we are highlighting our "Story Behind the Hymn" series. I saw this video for the first time today and it just totally ministered to me. I wanted to start preaching to my keyboard! "All Hail the Name of JESUS!!!"

I wanted to share this video with you. Turn up the volume.

P.S. I had a sandwhich for lunch. Ingredients: Wheat bread, turkey, cheddar cheese, squeeze of mayo and pickles (sandwhich sliced) okay,.......back to the video.

my day

well, my day started early and has finished late. today i had breakfast with my mother at a little restaurant close by our family's business. we opened up the shop to anxious customers who were craving monkey mixes and mocha mudslides. after a few hectic hours, things slowed down a bit for me to work on some paper work. afterwards, there was the after school rush. we closed up at 6 and i was out the door running to the car and off to bible school.

i go to a night bible school here in corpus christi in an area called flour bluff. three hours of apologetics was too much for me tonight. islam, judaism and catholicism. talk about crazy information flying at you too fast to take in. we also had a debate tonight. as a side note for everyone who didn't know, i am the associate pastor of Elim Assembly of God in corpus.

well, that pretty much sums up my day. it was a pleasure but i've gotta jet. goodnight world. -aaron

Lunch Break with Araceli

Today I had: Leftover Turkey Chilli (orginally served with sweet yellow cornbread)

Ingredients:
Ground Turkey
Pinto beans
Red beans
Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Paprika
Chilli Powder


I made it for dinner on Friday for Tia Yaya and my dad. My dad had seconds, tia yaya did not. I was very nervous that they woudn't like it. My dad asked if we should add it to our weekly menu so I guess that means that he liked it? A call to Tia Yaya's PR personnel was not immediately returned. (i.e. she didn't say anything)

So i'm still confused because no one except for me has eaten the leftovers. So did they like it or not? Was my dad just pulling my leg and then pulling my finger? I'm still not sure. BUT, if you have a large family, this is a great inexpensive receipe. let me know if you want the details.........

let's get started

well, this is our very first blog! we just want to keep our family and close friends updated on what's going on in our lives. believe us, there are a lot of funny stories to tell. you will regularly see posts from both of us, but we'll make sure to sign our names so you know who's who. we hope you enjoy our memories as much as we enjoy making them.

in this blog, i plan to share with you parts of my life and brag on how wonderful cheli is. araceli took this picture here when she was visiting me. she has got a photographer's eye.- aaron

hi everybody!! if you haven't met aaron, he attached a pic (the man, not the bird) If you haven't met him in person, i hope you do soon. immediately you'll see why i love him. so, make sure to check our blog everyday for updates, funny stories and the next winning lotto numbers. - araceli