Weekend Recap

My weekend was so much fun. 

On Friday, Rudy and I made our first gingerbread house. It was so fun and turned out pretty good. 

Unfortunately the peppermints didn't stay on and started to melt. I love how the gingerbread house makes the house smell every time I walk in. I love it!

On Saturday I went to my little Jen's place for a holiday potluck. I had so much fun hanging out and playing games. Her place is so cute and homey, and I love her Christmas tree.

On Sunday, I went to my pledge sister Jennie's house with some of the girls for some tacos and beverages. I hadn't seen her in forever (it seems like) and miss her. She's in nursing school right now and I'm so proud of her (I know it's not easy). It was very sweet of her to make dinner for us during her break. And I always enjoy girl talk. Lol. 

It was such a fun and relaxing weekend. I just hope the rain stops in time for Christmas. 

Four more days!!!!! :-)

Downtown Disney

On Saturday, Rudy and I went to Downtown Disney. He's never been and I've been wanting to go for awhile now. The weather was also perfect for our date. :)

When we got there, there was this beautiful, huge Christmas tree, so I had to take a picture with it (of course). 

We got to the Lego store and he really wanted to take a picture with Woody. How cute. :)

I absolutely love Harry Potter, so was excited to see these made out of legos. 

I was SUPER excited to see that they had Harry Potter key chains. I got a younger Harry about 5 years ago and needed an upgrade. I bought Harry, Ron and Hermoine. 

We went into the Disney store and Rudy bought me Remy from "Ratatouille." He's so sweet. "Ratatouille" is one of my favorite cartoons of all time. It taught me about mixing the cheese and grape. Lol. 

We ate at Rainforest Cafe and got some beigneits for dessert. This was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go to Downtown Disney. I was introduced to these about 6 years ago and fell in love with them. I described them to Rudy as "little pillows of heaven." I wish I knew a place closer to me where I could get them. So good! 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's here!! My favorite holiday is here! It seems like Halloween was just last week, so before we know it, Christmas will be here! All the decorations and holiday stuff at the stores excite me.

I have so much to be thankful for...

My family.

I really don't know where I would be without them. We've always been there to help, support, and love one another no matter what. I absolutely love our family gatherings.

The boyfriend.....Mr. Del Rio.

We've been together for over 3 years and I cannot imagine my life without him. We've been through the good and the bad, our struggles and celebrations, and just...everything. We've been there for each other through thick and thin. He's my other half. <3

My friends.

Ever since I was little, I was always know as the person/friend who was too nice. I've been through A LOT of totally crappy friends (yes, I know it's a part of life) and am so blessed to have kept the friends that truly want the best for me and who I always want in my life. I think that in your high school/college years, you meet all these new people and make so many friends, but it's in your mid to late 20s where you kinda figure out who your TRUE friends are (at least for me anyways). I am a very lucky girl to have the friends I do. 

My love of being a teacher.

It saddens me that I don't have my own classroom because of this retarded economy, but I feel lucky to have the 2 years that I did have at the school I was at, with the staff and students that were there. It makes me miss my kiddies so much more, but I am confident that they all will be successful students (the students in the pics are 2nd graders now). I know what when I get my own classroom again, I will be so grateful. I still have the support of the teachers/principal I worked with and I'm very lucky for that. I cannot wait for the day I get my own classroom again. I'm so ready!

Oh Thanksgiving....it's always good to think of the things you're thankful for. I have a lot to be thankful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May you have a blessed day with your loved ones!

Denis & Yung's wedding

Last Saturday, my cousin got married at the beautiful Millennium Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles. I was super excited since we hadn't had a family wedding in awhile. It was so great seeing everyone dressed up and having fun. After the ceremony, we all moved to the reception all to mingle and snack on the appetizers (and open bar ;-)). Everyone ate like we hadn't eaten it days; plus they were all a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I/we couldn't help it. I absolutely loved seeing my aunts, uncles, mom, and cousins getting down on the dance floor too. 

 With pops, momma, and big sis. 

 The bf looking spiffy. 

 Cousins. 

 The happy couple. :)

Look who caught the garter! Lol. 

Now I was no where near the girl that got the bouquet, but it's not biggie to me. Rudy was actually in the back of the group of guys (since most of them were friends and pushing each other), so I was pretty surprised that he caught it. My sister later tells me when my mom had no idea who caught it and was trying to look to see who did catch it. All my uncles, aunts, and cousins at that table saw, and were laughing and cheering. When the dj said "Congratulations to Rudy!", my mom was like "RUDY!!" I thought that was pretty hilarious. It's not that she doesn't like him, she loves him; but she wants us to wait, of course, till we're all ready (financial, career-wise, etc.). My mom told me later that she almost had a heart attack. Lol!

I'm happy he caught the garter, but it'll be at least 3 years before we're ready to get married. No rush. :) I love where we are now in our relationship.

What a beautiful wedding..congrats to Denis and Yung!

W-A-S-P-S!!!!!

So....since the day after Halloween, my sister had been bugging me about putting away the Halloween decorations. With work, I felt too tired (okay, maybe more lazy) to put them away. So yesterday, I decided it was time. I started to take things down from the door and windows and put them in the large container I used to store my Halloween decorations. 

I then bring in a cone shaped decoration (like a party hat with a bottom) that had little streamer-like things hanging from it into the house. I attempt to open the bottom part to flatten it to put into the container and a group of wasps came flying out. YES, WASPS!!!!!

I screamed (of course) and dropped the cone. My sister comes running from her room as I'm screaming and sees 3 wasps on the screen door and opens it to get them out. I'm just standing there, frozen because I'm in shock and disbelief and yelled "Get the bug spray!" She runs to get it and I find 3 more in the window (I guess they immediately went to the light). I spray but don't know if there's more. I call Rudy and our conversation went like this:

Me: What are you doing?

Rudy: About to clean my room.

Me: Um..can you do me a favor?

Rudy: Yea, what is it?

Me: (and I start talking really fast jumping up and down) I was putting away my decoration and you know the one that looks like a cone?? Bees came out of it in my house!!

Rudy: BEES!!

Me: I mean wasps!!

Rudy: WASPS!!

Me: Yes!! Please come over..I don't know what to do!!

Rudy: I'll be right over.

He gets here fast with Raid and a fly swatter and saves the day. He gets the ones next to the windows and looks around the house for more. I guess there were only 6 (well, not really only) but it looked like 10-15. So..of course I got the "I told you so" from my sister for putting up too  many decorations. Lol. But never again will I get any where any other living creature can build it's home. 

Yuck!!

My 26th Birthday

My birthday was awesome last week and pretty much continued on for another week. On my actual birthday (which was on Thursday) I came home to a adorable flower arrangement from Lei and Nach. I've never gotten anything like this so I was super excited. 

My mom made one of my favorite Chinese dishes. It was so good. Rudy bought this cake that I absolutely love! It's flan cheesecake! Two of my favorite things together! It's truly heaven.

On Friday, I got to have dinner with my Lil sis Amanda. We went to Olive Garden, which I was craving for 

f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Lol. It was great seeing her and catching up. The breadsticks and soup are yummy!

 On Saturday, I had a birthday lunch at 38 Degrees in Alhambra. I knew since it was Halloween weekend, it wasn't a good idea to have a dinner. I was super excited to see all my friends together. Time passes by so fast, so I love get togethers where I can hang out with my dearies. I truly felt loved and blessed. 

I really wanted a group picture of everyone and got it! 

 These girls are my sorority sisters. I was so happy to see all of them. 

On Wednesday, I got a huge surprise when this came to the door. I've never gotten an Edible Arrangement before. They were from my son Emil. I love him to pieces and they were so g-o-o-d.

On Thursday, I went to dinner with my Sweetheart sis Monique. We went to Crane Sushi and she got my these delicious cupcakes! 

This birthday has truly been amazing. Thank you to everyone for your text messages, phone calls, facebook wishes, and everything else. I had an amazing birthday and felt really loved. :)

Happy Halloween!

Yay!! It's here!! Halloween's here! I cannot believe that today is the last day of October. I feel like I need a pause/slow mo button sometimes. Lol. 

On Friday, Rudy and I carved our pumpkins. We usually put a face on the small one and then Rudy and I pick our own design for the other two larger ones. I picked the spider and he wanted the scarecrow. I'm in charge of tracing and taking all the nasty stuff in the inside. He's in charge of the carving. Last year we had the regular carver and he bought a electric one which made it a lot faster and easier on the arms. 

 Rudy hard at work. :)

 The final product.

 I love decorating the house. 

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Turning the big 2-6

I am turning the big 2-6 tomorrow. I really cannot believe how fast time flies. It doesn't feel like another year passed already. I wish I could the world would slow down, but like that's really gonna happen.

I have never really dreaded turning another year older (not yet, anyhow). I feel so blessed to have lived another year of life, love, family and friends. I am lucky to have the family and friends that I have. My family have been there for me no matter what and I don't know what I would do without them. I know who my true friends are and I feel lucky to have met them. It's the friends who will be there at my wedding (in many many years from now), the ones whose kids will be friends with mine. I have had more than my share of fake friends and have luckily been able to weed them out. :)

At 26, I know exactly what I want to do with my career. Although it's something that I had and lost (due to economy), I know I will one day have my own classroom again and that I'll be the best teacher I can possibly be. Some days can be hard because I miss it so much, but I have a strong support system. 

I look forward to another year of growth, life, love, family, and friendship.

Yes, I am truly blessed. So here's to being another year older. :)

Calabasas Harvest Festival

To continue with my Fall fever, Rudy and I went to the Calabasas Harvest Festival on Saturday. It's not super close to us, but when Rudy heard "pumpkin beer," he HAD to try it. It was so much fun!

 We were looking for a square-shaped pumpkin just like Spookly the Pumpkin, but couldn't find any.

These cookies were so good!

 Whoever was in this costume was awesome! He/she was dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and it was hilarious!

 We were starving at the end. I got this awesome tri-tip plate and he got the Orange Chicken bowl (of course).

The pumpkin beer was not bad. He liked it and I even thought it was okay (I hate beer).

I love fall!