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.