ummm......no

So I made tacos last night and they were good. HOWEVER, i also made rice and beans. not so good. It wasn't until I was serving the rice that I realized that it didn't look right. Well, that's because I DIDN'T PUT ANY TOMATO SAUCE IN IT!! The rice was WHITE. The beans were edible, but could have used like 15 more minutes cooking.

Aaron said he liked them, but I think he was just being nice.

Oh well, there's always next time. :)

Late Night with Cheli O'Brien..I mean Gutierrez

Today was a fun day. Work was great and then I went out to eat with my two co-workers. We went to a restaurant that is literally down the street. Close enough that we could have walked, but who wants to do that? We went there because every Friday this guy plays the keyboard and it's entertaining, but probably not in the way that he would like for it to be entertaining. He records songs on his keyboard and then plays and sings on top of it. Okay, no big deal. That's not so bad, but the thing that cracks me up is that while he's playing he'll do an electric guitar solo or a flute solo.......on the keyboard! It was so great. We ate and then I came home and ran into Aaron on the stairwell. Poor mijo. He had to get Chik-fil-A.

We went to a store (which I will tell you more about later) and then back to the apt. I changed right away and then headed to the church for a women's service called a ......i don't remember. It's not a vehilia. It's something else I had never heard. I sat next to my MIL!! love her. Afterwards, they served Posole. I did not partake. It was TOO late at night for that.

Back at the apt ready to go to sleep! I work tomorrow! bleah!

HELLO!!!

AHHHH. We're finally back!! The last four months have came and went SO fast. I had so many friends who told me that the wedding would be here before I knew it. A LOT has happened since the last time that either of us has blogged. Most importantly though, WE'RE MARRIED!!

Now that we're up an rolling with the married life, I hope to be a better blogger. (Leslie, I hope you haven't deleted our blog as one of your favorites! :)

Since it's been a while here are some bullets to get you up to date:

• We are so happy!
• We are saving so much money because we used to go out to eat every night.
• I love cooking for Aaron, but it gets tiring. BUT he does help with the dishes :)
• There are about 5 pigeons that live on the palm tree right outside our bedroom window and I want them all to DIE. yes, even the baby.
• For the first two weeks after the honeymoon, I was flinging my arms and hitting Aaron in the chest about 2-3 times a night. i didn't even know i did that!
• I learned that Aaron talks in his sleep, and preaches in his sleep too! The first time he said, "GOD!! If God.....!" the next night he quickly props up on his elbow, faces me and says, "I don't know. What do you think? That's the way they're making it seem." He paused, rolled his eyes and fell backward on the bed. I was so scared! First of all I'm not used to waking up next to someone, secondly, I'm not used to being interrogated in the middle of the night. SCARY!
• I have been asking and asking for a dog and then it happened. Aaron went to HEB and came back with!......a plant. He said he wanted to see if I could keep it alive before trying to keep a dog alive. Ugh!
• We got our marriage license back today! That means that I can start waiting in tremendously long lines to get my name changed. woohoo for the DMV and SSecurity office!

We'll I think those are all the highlights! Now that we're in our apartment and finally have our wireless set up (yeah!) we will keep you posted with the latest and the greatest!

You are not Alone

Today, I went to feed some ducks that seasonally live in a pond nearby. Every season there will be a new batch of ducks to the pond. For the past few weeks I've seen a mother and her baby ducks. They were so cute and fluffy when they were little! Now they're growing and look more independent. There was one though that could never get any of the bread I was throwing. You see, his neck was kinda funny. It didn't stretch out like the other ducks. And he was slow. All the other ducks would run to the bread crumb. He tried, but he just never made it in time. I started noticing him. When all his siblings were in the water doing...what ducks do, he would just sit there. While everyone was slashing and quacking, he was just kinda... floating. Floating through life. I picked him out as the underduck. Of course, the majority of us will always root for the underduck. It's the compassion within us that allows us to do that. But for others of us, myself included, we can not only have compassion for, but we can identify with the underduck.

Have you ever felt like your circumstance is so different from everyone elses that theres no way anyone else would understand? Or maybe you feel like your the only one going through the test that you are facing? The real truth is that you don't have to be alone, you don't have to face life alone. Not only is God familiar with suffering (isaiah 53:3), but he gives us the opportunity to have community with one other (Galatians 6:2).

Maybe you may not identify with this underduck. Not everyone struggles with lonliness or isolation. But, there maybe someone around you who does. I wish I could say that there was another duck that was a friend and encourager to the underduck, but there wasn't.

For now, that underduck will have to live it out on his own, but you or the people around you don't have to.

Can you pick out the underduck?

I Like to MOVE IT, MOVE IT!

I bought some rubbermaid tubs from Target today. I'm going to start packing up my winter clothes. Over the next few weeks, I'll be packing up my few belongings in preparation to move to Corpus. I've also starting updating my resume. Job hunting is not fun. :( A few words that run through my head on a daily basis: Different. Unknown. Change. New.

When these words come to mind, I'm not scared or fearful, it's more exciting. (ok, maybe a little scared) I'll be moving in about 12 or so...

I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it.
I like to....MOVE IT!

130 days

Today, Cheli and I are 130 days away from our wedding. So many people have helped us get to where we are right now. I know that without special people in both of our lives, I don't know how we would have been able to physically be here. I just want to thank all of you special people who have helped Cheli and I get to where we are. I know that we are still 130 days away but it still means a lot to us. Thank you so much.

Going to Shursh... UPDATE

Today I'm going to worship at my friends church in Ft. Worth. Many of you SRCers are familiar with Amos Garza, the Vice Superintendent of GLAD and a great friend of SRC. Well his daughters are very good friends of mine Sherrie and Trisha. The youngest of the two Sherrie and her husband Santos planted a Spanish church a few years ago. Trisha is gifted in music and serves as the worship leader/keyboard player. I was priviledged enough to preach at their church when it was not even a year old. It will be great to see how much it's grown since then. Their service this afternoon will conclude their weekend long, 1st annual missions convention. It's gong to be a banquet style service. Another cool thing: The culinary chef that is cooking the meal is the husband of another friend from LABI, Lisa. I haven't seen her in about 4 years, since she's been married as a matter of fact, so I've never met her husband! I'm also excited to see them! I'll have to update you on the speaker, the service and the food after I get back.

The service is at 2:30 since they are still renting the fellowship hall from a Methodist church. Oh! I better start getting ready!

UPDATE: I just posted pictures, but this thing is acting weird so I posted them separately above.

I did a lot today....

Today was a crazy day. I almost ran out of gas (i can hear my mom now.. "you should NEVER let it get lower than....." but by the GRACE OF GOD i made it to a gas station. I went shopping for jewelry for the girls in the wedding party, but I didn't buy anything because I want to make sure that they like it. Today, i really wished that Beth and Kelli were with me. :( Tear..

Moving on....Today I bought our ring bearer pillow! (Seth, this is what you will be carrying in the wedding!) and some ribbon for the wedding favors. Hobby Lobby is where I bought these items. Hobby Lobby is probably the best craft store out there. If anyone disagrees with that, they need to say it to my face. I also bought a medium sized, black chandelier to hang in our apartment. It is so pretty and I had been looking for one for a long while, so I called Aaron and got the green light and bought it!

When I got home, I was sticky and gross. yuck. I'm thankful for hot running water and air conditioning. We are SO blessed here in America.

so all in all, it was a good day!

Whoa, What a Weekend

I had a blast this past weekend in Corpus. Unfortunately, Aaron had to work on Friday and Saturday, but I had a few appointments, so I was pretty occupied.

• One of these dreadfully boring appointments was........ cake sampling!!! It was SOOO good. I tried strawberry, yellow and white. Guess which one I picked? .....well, you'll just have to wait and see. But believe me, I picked the yummiest one! So the cake is picked out and it's going to be beautiful! ; )

• I also talked to a flower lady. She was very kind and helpful. Everything that I picked out will look beautiful! This lady caught my vision and I think she's going to make everything look great. \o/

• I got to spend some time with my FMIL (future mother in law) she had knee surgery so she was stuck in bed. We had a McAllisters lunch in her bedroom, it was great fun :0

• Friday night, we got dressed up to go to WaterStreet Oyster and Sushi Bar. Aaron ordered me an shrimp quesadilla appetizer. Then I had some seasoned chicken alfredo something. Of course Aaron's plate was better than mine. He always gets something better than me and I always want whatever he orders. he also wanted to order sushi, but i declined. : {

• On Saturday, I had to run more errands. One of which was going to zales to get my engagement ring cleaned and inspected. Aaron set me off with all the paperwork. Poor guy. I already told him that I lose things easily, but he still gave it to me. So i didn't lose the paperwork, but I did forget to give it back to him. sorry, Aaron :(

• Saturday night, I took Aaron on a surprise date. I asked him to bring goggles (to throw him off since he was trying to guess where we were going) So he wore goggles the whole car ride while seriously trying to convince me that they improved his vision. BAha! so as we approached the restaurant I covered his eyes which made him EXTREMELY nervous. and then (after checking that there were no cars around) I slammed on the brakes just to get him hyped about dinner. We ate at Wings n More (he had never eaten there!) and I gave him a card because he's so amazing. :O
• On Sunday, there was only one service. Aaron translated to English since they combined the English and Spanish congregation. he did a great job. Afterwards there were activities and FOOD! I ate a ton! I had a hot dog and then nachos and then another hot dog. What? I was hungry :(

• Sunday afternoon we went to his pastors house for a BBQ. So it was me and aaron, the pastor and his wife, freddie the youth pastor and his girlfriend, and steve and liz, my friends that I stay with when I visit Corpus. I made my famous sopapilla cheesecake. Afterwards, we were all so stuffed that we all went to the beach for a walk. There were these little animals in the sand that would light up when we walked. It was like walking on stars. * :)*

• Aaron was off on Monday, so we got to hang out!!! we walked around Best Buy. We would have walked around it 3 times if Aaron had had his way. Then we made our way to the beach. the weather was perfect and Aaron didn't get burned even better. he tried to show me how to throw a frisbee. I'm still not very good :(

All in all it was a great weekend! I had tons of fun with Aaron. I can't wait to see him again!

You Are What You Think

Have you ever heard the phrase,"You are what you eat."? I want to make some people think out there. How about this: "You are what you think." What you think will determine how you feel. How you feel will determine the choices you make. I consider myself to be a pretty positive person. You might consider yourself to be fairly positive as well. But unfortunately, we can entertain thoughts of negativity. This poor thinking is a robber. A culprit that steals our happiness and fogs our minds. 

If we only could challenge this way of thinking. 

Proverbs 16:23, "Much food is uncultivated in land of the poor. For lack of justice it is swept away." 

So much food stays in the ground. So many answers. So much potential stays hidden in the ground, because of a poverty way of thinking. Can we challenge our thinking and line up our thoughts with God's thoughts. 

"I know that thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace, hope and a bright future." Jeremiah 29:11

Concrete Truth

So it's been pretty hot lately and I must say... I LOVE IT! I prefer hot over cold any day! I like the heat, I don't know why. I don't really sweat, so maybe that's why. Today, as with every day, I went to check the mail. I always (except for in the winter) check the mail without any shoes on. This is my idea of camping. Today the concrete was a little warm. The minute I stepped on the driveway, it brought back a memory of when I was a little girl living in Mertzon, TX. I remember playing outside and the concrete was so incredibly hot that it felt like it was really really cold. Do you know what I'm talking about? Today when I remembered this, I looked down at my toes like I used to when I was little. I remember that it used to weird me out because my feet felt cold concrete although I knew that the truth was that it was really very very hot.

It reminded me that we sometimes we allow our circumstances to dictate how we feel. The heat of the concrete was telling my feet to feel cold, when that clearly was not the truth.

Becareful not to let your concrete tell you how to feel. Stand on the Truth.

Make it Happen

Today is a make it happen sort of day. I have in my possession, my mom's veil from her wedding. By the time my wedding rolls around this veil will be about 29 years old. It's a gorgeous veil. (I would post pics, but I don't want you-know-who to see it.) It's exactly what I wanted, but could not find anywhere. HOWEVER, the lace has become, well.....aged. Yellow to be exact. SO, I need to find someone who can replace the lace, OR this will become a DIY project. so by the end of today, I will have some sort of solution. Lets see what happens......

kinda funny..

Lately, I've caught myself trying to spell my name Aaraceli. I guess I'm so used to texting/seeing/saying Aaron's name. The place I seem to do it the most is on those "sign here" checkout screens.

I Love "Hello's"

Well in about 15 weeks or so, my fiancee will be moving down to Corpus Christi. I have got to say that there are a lot changes on the way. The one thing that is going to be hardest to for Cheli to adjust to is... we only have TWO malls; and one of them is turning into a flea market; not good. But we love each other and like the good book says, "Love conquers all." 

I am for the first time going to experience having Cheli in the same zip code for the first time ever. As everyone close to us knows that Cheli and I commute by plane most of the time to see each other. This is SO hard for us when we have to leave. I don't like goodbyes. The end is coming for "goodbyes." I can't wait. No more driving around with an empty passenger seat. From now it will be, "make that two please." 

 

Bye Bye Birdie

I am starting to prepare mentally for my move to Corpus. It's going to be a big deal for me. I realized that EVERYTHING in my life is about to change. From becoming a wife, and a pastors wife, to being in a new city where I don't know my way around and having a new job, to having a new cell phone provider and checking account. Everything around me is about to change, except for my car. (Unless Aaron will switch with me? He has heated seats and the car starts from yards away. diva!)

I was in the middle of my 30 minute commute from work, stuck in some traffic, with people speeding, cutting each other off and waving at each other, and all I could say to myself was, "I'm really going to miss Dallas" I love it here. Out of all the 5+ cities/towns I've lived in during my lifetime, I like Dallas the best. I wonder if one day Aaron and I will live here? I wonder if we will live in Corpus forever?- not that I would mind.

I've been in this place before. I'm in this place where I'm totally confiding in God for my well being. It's going to be a huge change, but it's nothing that He can't handle. I'm just casting all my cares on Him. He's leading the way, i'm just taking the steps.

So as my long drives all over Dallas come to an end, i'll just smile and wave. not those kinds of waves, the nice kind.

Bye bye birdies!

MAY 10TH

yesterday was mothers day, but it was also may 10th. may 10th is exactly 5 months from my wedding day!!!

only 5 months away.... It's going to be here before I know it......

Major To Do List:

Find a groom-check!
Find a cake vendor
Find a florist
Order my invitations

I wish...

I wish I had an aunt that loves Paula Deens recipes that would make me a huge canasta of Paula Deens Special Seasoning so that I can use it for when I'm married because I love it and put it on everything I eat. ahem.... now on to dinner.

ENGAGEMENT PICTURES!

The pictures aren't done yet, but the lady who did them sent me some to hold me over until the rest are done. I love this picture, I can't wait to see the rest! Double click to enlarge.

(Aaron caught me as I was falling off the monkey bars)

Powerful Pancakes

Tonight for dinner I had pancakes. Three of them. They were smaller than your typical pancake, but I had three nontheless. they were so warm and yummy and drowing in warm butter and syrup. I washed it all down with cold milk...hmmm. After I ate I was feeling sleepy so I went to lie down (i think around 6:30-6:45) for a little bit and then BAM! I woke up FOUR HOURS later. Man those things knocked me out! So here I am wide awake blogging on my cell. I'm going to try to go to sleep now.....good night.

Married?!

WHAT? Uncle Aaron is getting... MARRIED!!???

This past weekend - written by: guest blogger

This past weekend Aaron came to visit Cheli and they did a ton of fun things. One of the many things we, I mean they did was get some engagement pictures taken on Sunday! This picture was taken while Aaron was waiting for Cheli to finish getting ready. I think it's obvious from this picture that Aaron will have no problems with Cheli being a back talking, nagging, overly opinionated, bossy, or unruly wife. What an angel. Wow, he is really blessed.

Yours truly,

Guest Blogger

A Poem for You

Tonight Aaron is at school.
Thankfully, he is no fool.
Education is a great tool
To learn, to learn.

Tonight Cheli ate a big burrito.
She can't even eat a cheeto.
Bal-ga-me, much less a frito.
Too much, too much.

One day soon they will marry.
Hopefully the Lord will tarry.
They will name their first boy Larry.
Too bad, too bad.

Busy Bee's

Aaron and I are both going to have a busy weekend. I am a bridesmaid in my friends wedding next saturday, so this weekend we are going to be doing last minute errands, etc, etc. Aaron is in Brownsville preaching at a church there. He preached tonight and will be preacing again tomorrow night and both services on Sunday. This church had him do a similar event last year and they have invited him back again this year. They must like him. What's not to like?

Wedding Website

"Hillo!" Yes, I spelled that right. "Hillo!" That's Hi and Hello put together. Araceli and I have built a website together that posts information about us and the wedding plans as they progress and evolve. 177 more days until the Big Day! Araceli has been so great about organizing the contact information and talking to different wedding people. It's a lot of work for the bride. I am very proud of her. I am doing the best that I can to be the best finance, I mean fiance. So, anyway, check out the website, and sign our guest book. Thanks. - Aaron

Click here www.theknot.com/ourwedding/AraceliHernandez&AaronGutierrez

Jesus' Dirty Hands

Today before I went on my lunch break, I washed my hands. Every time I wash my hands at work, I'm amazed at how much dirt comes off of them! I work in an office, yes. But everyday when the mail comes in, I sort dozens and dozens of envelopes. I also work closely with a few printers, so I'm always touching paper hot of the press. Today when I was in the bathroom (don't worry, it's safe to keep reading) washing my hands and watching the dark drips of water run into the drain, a thought occurred to me. I bet Jesus' hands were dirty. During his years of ministry, He was constantly touching people, all kinds of people. Rich people, sick people, dirty people, poor people, clean people, sad people. Jesus touched them all. He even used mud and spit to perform a miracle at one point. Jesus definitely wasn't the type to have a disciple squirting antibacterial on his hands every 30 seconds while visiting towns. It seems like he really didn't care how dirty the people were, He still touched them. I imagine that when the little children ran to him they were probably super sweaty from running around, but I don't really think that Jesus even thought twice about giving them a hug and pat on the head. I was lost in the thought that although He was perfect, without spot or blemish, He didn't care that his hands were dirty from those He touched.

This final thought came to me while I was getting one more pump of soap. I hope that my hands will always be dirty from doing God's work. I always want to have dirty hands, not because I want to people to know everything big and small that I do for God, but because I want to be like Jesus. I bet his hands were dirty.

Introducing...My Friend Sam

I'd like to introduce to you my friend Samantha Krieger. She and I met at BluefishTV where we've been co-workers and friends for over a year now. Samantha is a writer at Bluefish so I love hearing her stories about projects that she's working on. When she's not doing cool things like writing discussion guides for Mark Batterson studies and interviewing Max Lucado and Randy Alcorn, she's doing other cool things like Apartment Life ministry and taking care of her new baby! Samantha is a woman of God who encourages and inspires me. She's now on our list of blogs! Enjoy.


P.S. True friends both love Dave Ramsey. BFFs!

Communication Problems

I am in the middle of picking on Aaron. He sent a text to about ten people and 15 minutes later only one person has responded. He kept saying things like "Lets see if Aunt so-and-so has figured out how to text yet". I just sent a text to about 10-15 people and I had 3 texts within the same minute and several others in the minutes following the text. Picking on Aaron ensued.

Me: "Ah-ha Aaron. I already have people texting me back! My people are with it!

Aaron: (Silence)

Me: "How many people did you send a text to?"

Aaron: slightly aggitated "Like ten"

Me: "Ha ha. I already have like 5 texts and I sent mine a few seconds ago. My people are tweeters, texters, bloggers, ballers and shot-callers!"

Aaron: (sounding annoyed) "Whatever."

Me: (Chuckling) "It's okay Aaron. Why don't you just send a telegraph to them. (can't stop laughing), or maybe contact them through morse code. (Laughing harder) Maybe you should start a fire and use smoke signals BAHAHAH."

Aaron: silent pause "Do you want this one address?"


Me: "BA HAhha oh hee hee, ah, hee......yeah sure" "Oh,....just got another one! I have six (text) so far"

Aaron: (under his breath, i could hardly hear him): "Nobody's texting me"

Bridesmaids Dresses

they evade me. I am bound and determined to find some...TODAY.

I can't find these styles anywhere! getting frustrated!

the hunt is on

i'm trying to pin down an invitation for the wedding and it's really hard. It's hard because there are so many different choices out there. One thing for sure though, I'm trying to buy local to help out the mom and pop places. There are three different ladies that i'm talking to. One lady just closed her shop after 8 years of invitation/stationary business and is trying to go at it online. Another lady does invitations as a second side job. I'm having fun planning this wedding. no stress yet. I always thought that I would be one of those brides that cares about every little detail. I've found that I really don't. but I should probably get it in gear since it's getting a little closer. Yikes!

New Funny Man

Tim Hawkins is the new Christian comedian on the block. His stuff is HI-LAR-I-OUS. I heard about him from a co-worker todayand have been youtubing him since. Check out these two funny videos. More can be found at his website by clicking on this link. Enjoy!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm driving, yes DRIVING to Corpus. I have been fortunate enough to have Aaron flying me back and forth every six weeks or so. But this week Aaron's sister, Angela, was able to take a flight from Seattle to San Antonio to visit her family in Corpus along with her 3 month old baby, Ava. Angela moved to Seattle a couple of years ago after she was married. Her husband is stationed at the Naval base there. I really want to see her again and little Ava (for the first time), otherwise I will have to wait until the wedding in October. mas long.

So, tomorrow I'm leaving early from work to head down to the Sparkling City by the Sea. I'll be coming back on Sunday.

Spring Break is Great

Spring Break is great for many reasons. Most of these wonderful reason quit applying to me several years ago. But working for a ministry that works with ministers has it's perks. Alot of churches have staff who will either go on vacation, or missions trips, etc during spring break. This slow down is allowing me time to catch up on some tasks and project that are sitting on my desk. The only pitfall....when they come back, its gonna be non-stop.

Enjoy the rest of your spring break,... if it applies to you.

Wham! Bam! It's Uncle Sam!

It's tax time people! Ready or not, thirty days from today.....dun, dun, dun...your taxes are due. (shivers) Kudos to everyone who has already done theirs. Mine were submitted today. My taxes are done bebe! ahhhh, it feels good to have that behind me. Hey, I'm looking at the bright side. At least I didn't have to walk/ride a donkey to my hometown like Mary and Joe.

7 Months Away!!!

Everyone is telling me that time is going to fly and before I know it the wedding will be here. I think they're all lying to make me feel better. Each day seems to drag on. I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas. Today is the seven month marker. We've got most of the major things covered, we just need to get details worked out. Aaron's been great. He works on wedding stuff without me even knowing! Fi-ha-te! For example, I found out today that yesterday he called the caterer to ask what color napkins they have and tomorrow he is going to a rental company to look at lighting and stuff. I had no clue. He's just telling me about all this stuff that he's doing behind my back :) He's like my sure can wedding man, my bridal go-to guru, my super sly marriage guy, my clever cleaver. I could go on. It's all great, but it does leave me with some questions. Is he expecting me to pay him for all his wedding planning services? Will he also hem my wedding dress for me?

Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait to see.......7 MORE MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had joy, we had fun...

Relaxing. That is the word for this weekend. Cheli and I enjoyed each others company so much that neither one of us wanted to see our time together end. Unfortunately, it had to end.
We wanted our time together to be a time for us to relax and clear our minds from the planning process of our wedding. On Saturday morning, we went to Whitecap Beach which is about 5 miles from Mustang Island State Park. We walked down the beach and took photos of each other and sat down on the sea wall about 50 yards away from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The view was breathtaking. A cool sea breeze was blowing across the foamy surf. The water was relentless in its approach, but receded back to its place. The caw of hungry seagulls filled our ears. The salty air filled our noses. The crunching of South Texas sand filled in between our exposed toes. The warm sun kissed our skin.
We walked away refreshed. It was a beautiful day that day. Cheli and I are looking forward to our big day. I am looking forward to many more days like this past Saturday. Counting the hours...

I'm baaaaaccccckkkk!!!!

I just got into my room! What a weekend! Aaron and I had alot of fun in the Corpus Christi sun. Aaron and I did alot of fun things, but I am so very sleepy-ish so I'll have to blog about our adventures at a better time. But what I do want to share is a a mothers day card that Aaron wrote. We discovered it while looking through some old pictures. I don't know really what to call it, an essay? a scary edgar allen poe poem? not sure, but this is proof that Aaron has always been a deep thinker. (they guessed that he was in 3rd grade when he wrote this)

ENJOY! i know i did. I couldn't stop laughing.

What A Day!

Today was an awesome day. It started out with a yogurt and banana and I was out the door. I made a few stops this morning before I got to work and finally made it to the shop around 9:45 AM. 

We were pretty busy at the shop. It starting picking up around lunchtime which is the usual time we get bombarded by hungry customers who want a delicious fruit cup. I had a phone call to make at lunch time to Cheli and then back to work.

Then we had the after school rush where if your not careful, your gonna get run over! Fruit was flying everywhere! To the front and to the back, the shop was full of anxious customers.

6 PM came around and it was off to the church. I usually change at work on Wednesdays so that I can make it to church on time. Otherwise, I'd be running super late.

Tonight we had Baptism Class and New Member Class. The class was great! We went over some basic stuff and reviewed with them the notes that were handed out in advance. 

I think that everyone is ready and confident that they are making the right decision.

Today was awesome! It started great and ended great. Tomorrow, Cheli flies into town. We haven't seen each other in over a month. I can't wait to see her. I love you Cheli!

I love de-regulation....whatever that means.

I have a co-worker whose dog chewed up his glasses. He told me that he was told that the lenses alone would cost over $150. The frame is fine, this is the cost of the lenses only. Ouch! Being the savvy computer guy that he is (he works in the IT dept) he did some research and found a super cool website. http://www.zennioptical.com/ As long as your have your Rx, you can place an order for prescription glasses starting at $8.00! He decided to splurge and get the $10.00 frames with anti-glare or whatever it's called. Oh and shipping is a flat rate of $5.00 from wherever. I'm going to be ordering some soon. When I asked my friend about the reason that I can order glasses from wherever I want, he said that there is no regulation on contacts/glasses so people can order from wherever they want!

Here's a link to a message board about the site if you want more info. Let me know what you think....

It's OFFICIAL

aaron and i are compatible on so many levels. however, we most recently found out that our favorite girl scout cookie is the same! lets do this people!

Does God Have Cold Hands?

According to my dad He does. We went to eat at cracker barrel. (via gift card- gotta love it!) Our waiter brought our drinks out to us. I immediately cradled my glass in my hand and began slurping on my sweet iced tea. Dad extended his hand to me and Tia Y so we could pray for our dinner. Dad starts praying and then interrupts himself to look at me and tell me that I have cold hands. The prayer sounded like this, "Heavenly Father, ..you have cold hands!" then he closes his eyes and starts praying again. BAHAHAHA!

P.S. They sell Bill Gaither CD's at cracker barrel. They also had a GIANT Hershey's bar. It was like....... 3 feet wide and a foot high, no joke. I did the math. it was worth 3,750 calories. GLO-RAY!!!!

Bible Study Tonight!!!

I just got home from church about fifteen minutes ago and I need to post a blog. It's been a while.

Every Wednesday night, our church has a Bible Study at 7 PM in English and Spanish. The theme for the study is "Experiencing God." It has produced some awesome results! Last week we introduced the spiritual gifts and a this week we focused on "Word of Wisdom." I really have enjoyed this study along with the rest of the church. Next week, "Word of Knowledge." - Aaron

Conversations with Father Act I, Scene I

Save the Drama for yo Mama cause Daddy Don't Care!

This situation based on real life events

Setting: Cheli, the highly dependant, pre-spousal daughter walks into the tv room to bother her dad while he is "relaxing".

and ACTION!


Me: (pretending to cry) "Daaaadddyyy! I'm huuuungry for something sweeeeet. baahaaahaaa"

Dad: (without blinking, or looking at me): "Well there's peanut butter and jelly."

Me: (shaking my head no) "nooooo. i don't liiiiiiike peanut butter"

Dad: (still not looking at me or blinking) "what about those miniature cinnamon buns"

Me: (still with the whiny voice) "nooooo, I don't like those. but i want something sweet. "

Dad: (breaking the world record for not blinking) "what about crackers?"

Me: "crackers are salty!"

Dad: (laughs- half blink)

Me: (still crying, no tears) "you don't feel like making pancakes?

Dad: (still not looking at me)"ummmm...let me see....no. there's some toaster strudels."

Me: (stop fake crying, pick up my head from the couch) umm, sounds good. (exit stage right)

Credits

Dad as Himself

Jessica Alba as Cheli

HA-PPY BIRTH-DAY WI-TA

(if your wondering about the title, it's to the tune of the happy birthday jesus christmas song.)

my wita turned 82 today! woohoo! she is DA BAEST!

Presidents Day!!

thank you to all the dead and living presidents of america for......being presidents. because of you alot of amazing and not so amazing things have happend. but most recently, our phones at work aren't ringing off the hook due to this holiday. I just decided that I love presidents day. i love it.

LOOK WHAT I GOT TODAY!!

FEBRUARY 10TH

OUR WEDDING DAY IS EIGHT MONTHS AWAY!

Like the Bishop says, "Get ready, get ready, get ready!!!"

Everytime it rains....

It seems like every time it rains, Tia yaya and I have an adventure. Last time we went walking together was few months back. The clouds were heavy and dark, but we just HAD to see what the posted sign at the entrance to the community said. Halfway down the street Tia Yaya says, "I don't think we're going to make it! It's gonna rain" I said, "NAHH" so there we go. 2 minutes later we were being pelted by huge raindrops. We began the awkward walk/run back to the house. We even turned down a ride from a neighbor in a white BMW. He obviously wanted to kidnap us. All the while tia yaya was saying, "surely your dad will come for us" I said, "Shirley?" and the laughs ensued. Dad did eventually come pick us up, but we were already completely drenched.

So dad is having to work a b-ball game tonight and tia yaya and I are on our own....oh, and it's raining. lets see what happens!

UPDATE: well, we're back to the house. on our way to our dinner destination Tia Y was chatting about the traffic on an exit called Bass Pro. She said, "And if you try to exit Bass Pro Shop, forget it" hee hee. then at kohls, we knowingly tried to use a coupon that wasn't good until tomorrow. We sought out the cashier that looked the friendliest in case they noticed the coupon. I told her that as a last resort, I would act blind and demand that they honor the coupon since I couldn't see the date. She said no.

Something Stinks: Case Closed

The first Sunday of 2008, I preached a sermon at Solid Rock Church in San Angelo entitled 'Something Stinks'. In doing so, I brought up the fact that even though one year has ended and another one has begun, our negative habits, thought life and actions will continue to affect us unless changes are made. I explained that if not cleaned up and cleaned out, certain areas of our past life can begin to wreak an unwelcoming odor in our present. As an example, I talked about the mysterious smell that invaded New York City a few years ago. The people of New York, were off to the start of a new year when one morning they woke up to what the papers coined as "an unnatural odor" that was very similar to the smell of ....syrup! They couldn't quite pin down the source of the smell. Well today, I found that the case has been closed! Click on the sermon title to hear the message, and on this link to read the rest of the story details from Yahoo news.

I have been inspired!

Aaron has been faithfully working out and I have been faithfully not working out. See, we are so faithful! This whole marriage thing is going to work out great! Well little Mr. Aaron has inspired me to reach to new heights. (metaphorically speaking of course since I'm done growing) Today I visited a local gym that's about 4 minutes away from the house. I drove up, parked the car and sat in there for about 5 minutes. I finally made it in and was given a tour of the facilities. It's modest, but I think that I'll enjoy the fact that all of the treadmills and elliptical machines have their own TV screen with cellulite, I mean, satellite.

I'm going to try it out for a week before I make a commitment. What was I doing for five minutes in my car before I went into the gym? Oh, nothing. Just finishing my Taco Bell taco.

That was SO TRASHY!

The trash truck woke me up at 7:40 this morning. I was so perturbed that I looked out the window at him. I don't know why. 1. That's not intimidating at all 2. Without my contacts, I can only see up to 8 inches in front of me anyway. Maybe it was my jacked up vision, but I was so sure that when I looked out the window, He was leaning off of the truck with one arm, with the other arm extended towards the houses he was passing like he was in a musical or something. I got back in my bed, but I couldn't go to sleep without figuring out what his lyrics might have been. I decided that he was probably singing with a low operatic voice, " I am your TRASH MAN, waking you from your SLUMBER!!! then I went back to sleep. I know, I'm silly.

Feeling Oily?

My car has this cool feature that tells me the oil life. The oil life of the oil, for clarification. When the oil life gets down to 15% it will indicate it to me as soon as I turn on my car, and it won't go away until I clear it with a push of a nifty button. Until I have the oil changed, that reminder will come on every time I turn on my car. I was shocked when I saw that the sticker (see top left corner of your front windshield) said that I was 800 miles over! I made an appointment right away to get the oil changed (yes, I have to make appointments to get the oil changed) It wasn't until I left work early to talk to "Kenny" (if thats his real name) that I learned that they just try to estimate with the sticker mileage. I was told by "Kenny" that I should always go by the indicator on the car. Good to know, "Kenny", good to know.

habbaguudaye!

So opposite from my wonderful finance, I have not been working out. I've been thinking about it. Thinking should burn maybe a calorie or two, so that'll have to do for now. In the meantime, I will continue my omg-i woke up late- i have no time to make lunch- I'm late for work- visits to good ol' Mickey Dee's. On my most recent rampage through the drive thru, I learned some new lingo from my mexican worker friends. As I was taking my goodie bag from the lady, I said thank you. Then she said, "Habbaguudaye." I said, "sure." I waited because i thought perhaps it was a new sauce or something of the likes. Then she closed the window. I drove off and after repeating it over to myself out loud i realized that she was saying, "HAVE A GOOD DAY." hee hee.

I'm gonna PUMP you UP!

Tonight I began my road to total fitness! I went to the athletic club tonight and I participated in an exercise class called 'Body Pump'. They estimate that you will burn 800 calories in one hour in this class. The only thing that was going through my mind the whole time was the fried okra and chicken strips I had eaten for lunch. We started out with a 10 minute warm up and after 10 minutes, I was already breaking a sweat. Then we moved on to squats. It was the squat routine that made me regret ever eating anything in my life. Then we moved on to chest and back areas. As i type this, it's a little hard for me because i can feel the tension in my back. Cheli thinks i'm exaggerating but i really do think that even my hands will be sore tomorrow..I'm serious! THEN we moved onto biceps and triceps and I am not lying that my arms wanted to say in an L shape when I left the gym. I'm not joking. I can just feel them right now wanting to go back to an L. Then we did probably the hardest part of the workout which is the lunges. I wanted my mom to carry me to the car after that. SO I'm pretty tired. I AM going to be sore tomorrow. But i have promised myself that I'm going to get in shape for the wedding. And it's true what they say, "No Pain, No Gain." - Aaron

I feel like throwing up

i was on youtube and i was watching this video where the camera was being jolted and jerked around. now i feel all queasy. i know that this happens to normal people, but I'm especially susceptible to this kind of stuff. i get motion sickness fairly easily. i have NEVER been nor will i EVER get on a roller coaster. i get sick when looking up towards a tall building. i get sick when i look down out of the window of a tall building. i think i heard someone say that my dad had motion sickness issues like that. maybe my mom, uncle benji or uncle joe can verify that for me. ugh. it's a gross feeling. i feel like eating cereal but i'm scared that we'll have a clean up on aisle nine.

FREE FOOD!!!

Go to Denny's tomorrow for some free chow! You know I'm gonna be there fo sho!

UPDATE: I'm tired. There's no way I'm gonna make it. Tell me how it went.

What Size Am I?

We went to whataburger for dinner. If you've been there, you know the drill. You order, they give you a cup, you get your own drink. Well I was doing just that when my dad walked up. I didn't know what size drink I had so I asked my dad, "Dad, what size am I?" Dad looks at me over his shoulder like he's doing an estimate. "I mean...what size drink do I have?" You better believe I corrected myself before he could answer! Ugh, my dad is so.....dad-ish.

Icy roads!!!

Today the roads were very icy! I take three major highways to get to work and all three were pretty bad. My 25-30 minute drive took a little over an hour. I saw several people that slid off to the guardrail and were waiting for help. It can get pretty scary, especially when the crazies out there think that ice is no big deal and are speeding all over the place. I think that tomorrow morning won't be as bad.....hopefully.

I took this pic while driving to work...JUST KIDDING!

HELLO WORLD!!!

ahhh! it's been a while hasn't it? well alot has probably happened, so i won't try to recap, but sunday night i flew back from a weekend of being in corpus. it was a lot of fun hanging out with aaron, his parents, and his church family. they've already got a class lined up for me! (and no uncle benjy it's not for the WM's!) Aaron translated the pastors sermon from Spanish to English in the morning service for the first time ever. He did a very good job if i do say so myself! Last time i was there was the Sunday after Christmas when they announced that Aaron and I were engaged. After the service Aaron had me stand at the door along with him, the senior pastor and his wife and the youth pastor. I was kinda hoping that i wouldn't have to do it again because 1. we're not married yet and 2. it's so awkward for me. So after the announcements, the pastor asked someone to dismiss. I knew that once that person started praying, that the pastors would start walking to the back. Aaron was standing on my left. As soon as the prayer started, I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't make eye contact with him. I tried to furrow my brow to look like i was praying intently. Then i felt Aaron lean in and heard him say , 'come on, lets go'. I said, without opening my eyes or lifted my head, "me?" Aaron said, "yes". I said, "right now?" Aaron smiled and said yes. it was so aaawwwkward. people were smiling at me like, "who in the world are you?" one lady said, "pastor, es dis jur wief?"

oh me, oh my. at least he took me to eat at La Playa.

What's the deal

I went to bed last night with a slight headache. When I woke up the nasty thing was still there. I rarely get sick and I rarely get headaches so I'm not quite sure what the deal is. I'm going to go to sleep early and see what happens. grrrrr.........

Happy Birthday Leslie!

Today my friend Leslie from work turned 26* She reads this blog, and she's probably turning red right about......... now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLIE! Hope you had a great day!

Grand Opening!

There is a brand spankin' new grocery store that opened up just a quarter mile down the street from us! yes! now i don't have to drive half a mile to go to walmart. I love Dallas. The grand opening was today, so all the employees were very cheery and helpful. Just give em some time.

Anyway, they have a lot of cool stuff. We walked around tonight after church and got a slice of pizza. Mine and Tia Yaya's piece (we shared) came in a cheapy pizza box, while dads little tiny piece came in a huge salad sized container. His was gourmet..la dee da.

I asked dad if he would go there in the a.m.,buy me something and drive back to the house and put it in my car so it's there when I'm ready to go. And then I added, "Oh, and can you unwrap it halfway so that it's ready to be eaten?" He laughed at me. rude.

here's the link to the site if you want to do a little browsing

http://www.marketstreetcoppell.com/

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BA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!

So if your related to me, you may have noticed that I sometimes have a hard time behaving in church. Shocking, I know! So the church that we've been going to LOVES handouts. Tonight the handouts for the study were in the form of fill in the blanks. But, I guess in order to not make it too difficult, the first letter of the word was given in the blank. Here's what happened. They were talking about how only 20% of peeps in the church exercise their gifts in the church. So number ten said this:

10. A person who has only 20% of their body functioning is called an i_______.

So when the teacher read this, the lady in front of us loudly says, "PARALYZED!"
um......I guess she didn't see the " i "?

Then later on the teacher who goes off on rabbitt trails was talking about her friend who had many gifts. She said about her friend, "She was very shy. Probably still is. She lives in Houston. She operated in her giftings."

Tia yaya and I were kicking each other to stop from laughing. I was laughing so hard when I got in the car. Tia yaya is my witness, I could not stop laughing.

Do you know the answer to number 10?

Idenity Crisis?

Yesterday at work, I was sorting and preparing W-2's. While I was doing that, my phone rang. While I was still reading through a huge list of names, I answered the phone and introduced myself, "Hi, this is Jason. How can I help you?" My brain was too fried, the caller didn't notice, so I just went with it. It was one of those days.

Oohhh, you come to my house, take off you shoes, i make you fly lice!

Thats right folks! Tonight, in honor of our special guest Josiah Jehu, I made dinner. The menu? Chicken Fried Rice. This plate is so good it'll make you wanna slap yo mamma! sorry peeps, this recipe is under lock and key, but i will let you know that this dish took about hour from the time I started prepping the food until it was served.

Dad says: "The chicken was moist. The rice was tenderly fried. Everything was wonderful. My palate exploded with delicious taste."

Tia Yaya says: "The chicken was tasty. It had a touch of garlic but didn't overpower the plate. It was delicious!"

Joey says: "Every forkfull of food was sinfully breathtaking and delicious!"

I almost went to heaven

My little cousin joey is in town for vacation. Yesterday, I arrived at the house at 4. I take lunch an hour early on Fridays so i was more hungry than usual. Joey said that there was some left over chicken from Babe's. I picked the smallest piece, a wing. You know how chicken wings are, there's only like 23% meat and the rest is bone. so i was still hungry. Joey is my witness, I stood in front of the pantry for like 5 whole minutes trying to make a desicion. I finally decided on a macaroni cup, only to find that the box was empty! grrr. a while back i bought some spam. I know, i know. spam is gross. i know that, but i used to eat it when I was little so i thought i'd give it another try. ok, here's where it gets dangerous. I heated it up on a pan and start talking to joey. I nibbled off a tiny little piece. Right then joey said something funny about chickfila sauce and i took a breath to start laughing. bad idea. that little nibble of spam got stuck in my throat. Joey wasn't looking so i went to the sink to see if i could just clear my throat, after a while, nothing. then panick set in. I managed to get joey's attention. he looked at me and asked, "Are you joking?" i shook my head "no". At this point I start violently trying to get air. In my opinion this is the worst sound in the world. joey stands up and opens his arms and i turn around so that he can perform the heimlech. he then gives me the most gentle, soft hug. I started shaking my head "no", and I pushed his arms away. i push joey towards my dad and tia yaya's door. i remember right when i was leaving the kitchen area, i thought "i'm going to pass out". it had probably been close to a minute that i hadn't had any oxygen. i run over to dad and tia yaya's bedroom and joey gingerly knocks on the door. i start knocking on the door like a crazy woman. don't forget the whole time i'm still gasping for air. gasping isn't even a good word to describe it. i can't explain how hard my body was trying to get some air. i hear my dad and tia waking up and tia yaya says, "WHAT'S WRONG?!" silence. I obviously can't say anthing. I hit joey because he's not saying anything! I think he was just really scared. he says, "cheli's choking" i continue to stand at the door struggling for air and knocking. While i'm waiting for what i felt like was forever for my dad and tia yaya to answer the door i started feeling like i was getting like a tiny tiny bit of air with each attempt at breathing. I keep sucking in as much as possible. I FINALLY started getting some air. i think that because the food was small, i was eventaully able to move it with the force with wich i was trying to breath. by the time my dad and tia yaya finally opened the door (they were taking a nap), i was coughing and managed to squeak a whisper saying, "nevermind! i'm not choking anymore". My dad tells joey, "well if she's talking then she's fine" tia yaya says, "you should have called 911." poor joey didn't say anything.

I can't remember the last time that that I was choking. I just began to think, how would I react if joey was choking? I'm not sure if I would know what to do either. I felt bad for scaring him like that, but we ended up having a great rest of the day.

SPAM is bad for you on so many levels. just say no.

Happy Birthday Aunt Anabel!!!!

My Aunt Anabel's birthday was today. She turned 27*. My Aunt Anabel is very special to us. Here are my top seven reasons why....

Number One: She is has a beautiful smile.
Number Two: In all my life, I have never seen her angry.
Number Three: I always know what she's gonna say when she sees me, "Hey Mija."
Number Four: She is married to Uncle Benjy, 'nuff said.
Number Five: She has three great kids.
Number Six: When she laughs, no sound comes out.
Number Seven: When she laughs for a long time, she cries. - My Favorite

Happy Birthday Aunt Anabel!!! Love you!

Just throw it away!

Today we decided to put away the Christmas decor. Tia Yaya and I were packing stuff into boxes and putting the decorations back in their respective closets. My tia yaya asked me (with a disgusted face), "What do I do with these?" She points to some little figurines and ornaments that my dad recieved from teachers and students. One problem....they were all kinda ugly. Not only that, but my dad and tia yaya don't put up a Christmas tree. These ornaments were just ugly and useless for them. So I said, "Just throw them away." A few minutes later, I turn around to hear Tia Yaya say, "I just can't throw these away." She was holding two ornaments, a nativity scene and a dove. I was perplexed. "Why?" I asked. She explained, "Because, (holds up manger scene) I can't throw away Jesus. (Holds up dove) and the Holy Spirit. I just can't do it."

LOL!!! So she kept them with the rest of the decorations. Oh...and she also keep a little ugly nutcracker ornament. Maybe she thought it was a Roman soldier?

You may think this is wEiRd but...

I love paying bills.

I don't know why, I just do. I LOVE paying bills. Now the bills that are reoccuring like cell phone and insurance, I feel very neutral about. The thing that I like to do with those is send in my payment with bill pay even though they draft it from my account. What I do is send in everything but a dollar or two. I think it's funny when they draft my account and all they get is a dollar. I feel like, "Ha ha! You tried to take money from me in the middle of the night, but you only got a dollar!"

However, I LOVE the bills that have a certain amount that you have to pay down by a certain time. I love watching that amount get smaller and smaller. I feel like these bill receivers want me to miss a payment or make a late payment. But when I send in a payment before time and for more than my personal goal, I feel like it's a big "TAKE THAT!" I imagine them getting my last payment and then turning red, crunching a paper in their hand, looking to the heavens and screaming, "ARRRR! Hooow did she do this! We're going to lose our jobs!" I just love paying bills!

Aaron's Resolution

One of my resolutions for the new year is to save more money. I spoke to Cheli about this one and she's really helped in this area. I was looking over my statement from last month and I realized how much money I spend on eating out. Boy, was it a lot. I've got a pretty crazy schedule from week to week, and eating out is sometimes the only option. From Whataburger to Chick-Fil-A. You name it, I've driven through it.
So with the change of the year, I have decided to change my spending habits and save more money simply by packing a lunch everyday and keeping some sort of snack in my car just in case I catch a hunger bug. I've already bought about $15.00 of groceries for the week which consist of basic essentials: lunchmeat, Rainbow bread, bottled water and chips. I love sandwiches and I can survive on these. After the wedding though, don't ask me if I want a sandwich. Love you. aaron

happy new year!

Araceli and I would like to say Happy New Year to all of our family, future family and friends. May God Bless all of you with the finest!