All Hallows' Eve Quickie!

HALLOWEEN 2013 

in pictures....

THE PANDAS ESCAPED!!!

Mime in a box!

Kudos to those who know what movie this costume comes from!

How cute is he with his purple bowtie?! Answer: SUPER CUTE!

The second pumpkin I've ever carved in my life. LOVED IT! 

Free hand carving--oh yeah!! That's Tat's pumpkin on the left.  Yep, we rocked it!

I think Dorothy wanted me to carry her back to Kansas. 

I've gotta say, that I think Halloween is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays! So much fun!  

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Easter Weekend Edition.

*The Good: I spent Saturday & Sunday with Levi and it was EXACTLY what I needed.  It was peacefully blissful! I loved every minute of it!  It was quiet, relaxing and the pure definition of peace.  I. LOVED. IT.!!!  It was nice to take a nap and not awake to stomping feet from above, friends of my upstairs neighbor constantly whistling/yelling/calling out for them or any other stressful thing.  I love nothing more than spending time with Levi. Also, it was so lovely being able to sit next to some of my favorite people at church, Levi & Ame, while listening to Mac's wonderful talk on the Resurrection & Atonement. 

*The Bad: I went to sleep so dang late.  I started watching Criminal Minds and thought I should watch several episodes.  Who goes to sleep at 4am when they need to be work at 8:30. Bad choice!

*The Ugly: As I was walking out of my apt. this morning, my upstairs neighbor made an extremely loud noise... as if they dropped something very large and heavy! TWICE IN A ROW!  I seriously thought something was going to fall through our ceiling.  It pissed me off, so I walked back to the kitchen, grabbed a broom and hit the ceiling 3 times.  I could hear them yelling, and as I walked out the door, she stuck her head out the window to yell at me.  We went at it for a minute or two, and luckily the security guard came around the corner just as it was ending.  He knows about the ongoing problem these people are, so he went upstairs to talk to them.  She/Debra answered the door and said that they had "dropped a couch".   How do you drop a couch so that it makes two loud noises, a few seconds apart?  I just can't stand these neighbors of mine! Go away bad dream!

Happy {early} Birthday Ame!

Dear Ame!
I read your blog this morning, and thought I'd dedicate a blog to you.  
I just wanted to tell you, as well as the rest of the world {or at least those that read my blog}, how truly grateful I am for you.  You've been exactly the friend I needed to have at church, to help me feel more comfortable and at ease in a new ward, 18 months ago.  I've thanked Heavenly Father for placing you in my life.  Heaven knows I would have taken off a long time ago and attended a different ward, if I didn't have you to sit with.  
I remember the first time we really started talking.  It was at the 2011 Christmas party, when I showed up late and the only place to sit was at a table with you and Norma.  I surely appreciated your thoughtfulness of not speaking in Spanish, like the majority of the table, that night.  I remember how down you were with coming with me to the top of the Hyatt, since it was one of my goals, that month.  I thought, "Wow, I don't know this chick, but she's pretty cool if she's more than willing to come with!"  I knew then, that that would be the start of a cool friendship.  
I'm grateful for the times we've spent together...talking...sitting in church classes....organizing FHE stuff.....just those friendship type of activities that help bring two friends closer.  I enjoy our texts and emails about life, guys  & frustrations.  I value the trust you have in me.  Not many friends give me a key to their place.  Your empathy towards my family life has been tremendously meaningful.  I love you dearly, my dear kind friend.  I, for one, am especially grateful for your birthday...because my life has been enriched by your birth...your being and most especially, YOU!  Happy {early} birthday!

-Ehu

Good, Bad & Ugly: Weekend Edition.

Good: Had such an awesome weekend with Levi.  I love nothing more than just spending time with him.  I was able to have a "Ladies Day" with my niece & sister.  Ate at the new Filippi's restaurant here in town.  We also hit up Oasis Ice Cream, because honestly, that's the BEST ice cream here in town! There's just something so lovely about spending time with female relatives. I enjoyed a dinner party at Ame's and it was fun hangin' with the Peebs {some PB ward member friends}.  Plus my Young Womens Volleyball team won BOTH of their games on Saturday! Oh I felt like the proudest Mama ever!  They were excited and I think that was a terrific way to start their Vball season! Can't wait for their next game this coming Saturday.

Bad: I missed going to my ward on Sunday, thus missing Ame's talk.  I was rather disappointed about that.  Then I was even more upset that I was an hour late to the dinner party.  Don't even get me started on the overflowed toilet....FML moment, for sure.

Ugly:  Got into an argument with my Mom, late Saturday night/Sunday morning.  It's just so emotionally and mentally exhausting.  After a late night of arguing and hurtful words that were exchanged, I had no desire to go to church that next morning.  

Valentines.

For the first time in my life, I have a Valentines.

Oh how I love him so!

I love Love: Especially expressing it to loved ones.

I love Levi: He makes me feel special & loved...and he's my most favorite person to be with.

I love my sister: She a "best friend & sister & mom" combo for me.

I love my parents: They love me and help me in life.

I love my nephews: We can joke and poke fun, but still be friends in the end.

I love my niece: She shows me what a tender, loving heart is like.

I love my best friend MamaStephy: She makes me want to be a kinder person.

I love my bestie Hermanita: I can be brutally honest without seeming like a d-bag. 

I love Mama McK: The mother heart that I desire.

I love Mr. Red: He just gets me. 

I love Ame: She makes church & my calling so much more easier & fun.

I love Oasis ice cream: BEST ice cream on earth.

I love San Diego: Seriously, it's the best. 

I love my down comforter: Perfection.

I love Coronado: It's like a mini vacation, every time.

I love blogging: and all my long distant friends' blogs, so that we can keep in touch.

I love all things that make life so much more beautiful.

Happy Valentines Day.

Coveting...

....is bad!
Tonight I was guilty of it....but just a lil bit.
I was shooting some pics of tonight's FHE, with Ame's Canon camera and man, I was LOVIN' it!! Photography is SO different behind the lens of an SLR, especially a DSLR!  I forget how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE photography til I'm behind the lens of a real camera, not just a point and shoot.  Photography is my love and my passion and I haven't been doing it much lately, which makes me kinda sad.  Hopefully, if the weather's nice this weekend, I'll go out shooting with Tat's Canon.
I'm a Canon girl, always have been, since my first AE-1 that I "borrowed" from my Mom.  My first photo shoot was when I was 10, and took several photos of Barbie's wedding with Ken.  There's just something magical about being behind the camera. I LOVE IT.
When I got home from FHE, I couldn't stop thinking about Ame's camera.  I know there's a difference between "Needs" and "Wants"--somehow, when it comes to photography, it's more of a "need" to own this beauty:

I know, I know....it's not a Canon.  I feel like a traitor! But I can't help it! It's RED!! How many RED DSLR's have you seen?? Oh it's just so pretty! And I really really like the features! Oh man, I think I definitely need this camera!

Awkward & Embarrassed.

A couple nights ago, a group of us went out to eat, at Sonny's favorite restaurant.  I ended up sitting next to him, which I DID NOT want.  Later on, my friend Mare told me that my body language towards him was kinda rude.  I was turned away from him, and trying to focus on the conversation to my right.  I thought I was being subtle, but apparently I wasn't.  Mare gave me a hard time about it and then I realized later, I wasn't doing it because I was pissed at him... I was embarrassed.  I let my feelings show, last Saturday, that I liked him.  Once you throw that out there, there's not reeling it back in.  It's out in the open.  I feel stupid for asking him out, just plain embarrassed for letting him know that I dug him.  

Fast forward to today...

Some mutual friends were having a BBQ after church and I saw (on FB) that he didn't RSVP.  I figured he'd still be out of town and wouldn't be at the BBQ, especially since he wasn't at our Softball game, nor at church today.  Ame said that it would be good if I went to the BBQ so it didn't seem like I only went to gatherings that he would be at.  So I did.  As I was following Ame to the BBQ, I happened to look in my rear view mirror and noticed the buff looking man in the car behind me.  Whoever this man was, he looked pretty built and manly---SO HOT!!!!  Only when I stopped long enough at a stop sign did I come to realize that it was Sonny.  Really...REALLY?!?  I just couldn't believe it!!  What the heck?!  

I just feel so weird around him, I want to crawl in a cave and hide.  I hate the fact that he knows that I liked him.  I don't hide things well.  I don't want to talk to him, not cause I'm pissed that he basically turned down my invite for a date, but because I feel lame & stupid for even asking him out on a date, in the first place.  I wish I could just be invisible when he's around. 

Now I know what the saying, "Don't crap where you eat" means....

Sensitive Sunday.

Yesterday, I took my friend Darci to church.  As always, it's nice to have a friend to sit with at church.  Since we both play on the same Softball team with Sonny, she wanted to go over and talk to him (to give him a hard time for a bruise that happened at our last practice.)  I wasn't really in the mood to talk to him because I was still embarrassed from our game, the day before.  However,  I did need to talk to him in regards to next week's Family Home Evening, since we'll be playing Softball.  {I just can't escape this game! I'm gonna improve one way or another!}  He started to stand up as I was trying to tap on his back....which ended up inches above his butt.  He turned around and looked extremely pissed.  I started to regret tapping him...or even being near him, for that matter. I tried to keep it short and asked if I could talk to him after church.  He mumbled something in agreement and walked away.  I felt stupid for even bothering him, but yet I couldn't help but wonder why he looked so annoyed.  Darci said that others around him also looked annoyed.  Really?? Annoyed at church...what's up?!
I couldn't shake the thought during Sunday School, so I turned to Facebook and changed my status to: 

"I wonder why some people look and act annoyed, at church :(" 

Maybe I've become extra sensitive now, since I like Sonny.  After church, as I was walking out of the women's restroom, (Darci was in front of me, and Ame was still at the mirror)  I turned and saw Sonny at the end of the hallway. I tried to sneak back into the restroom.  I didn't want to talk to him anymore, not at all!  I couldn't sneak back fast enough and he called out for me.  I was timid and could barely even hear my voice.  I just wanted to be anywhere but in that hallway.  I tried to make it quick, but it wasn't working.  However, he maintained eye contact a lil more than usual.  I was practically eye to eye with him, since I was wearing wedges. It ended up being a decent conversation and he was nice again.  At one point, when I changed the topic from FHE to our Softball team, I grabbed his arm {bicep}.  Oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE it when you touch a guy's arm, and then they flex a split second later!  I can't help but chuckle because I always feel the difference between a flexed and unflexed arm.  So obvious!! Well, Sonny happened to do that and MAN OH MAN, his arm was so big!!!  I mean, it was big already, but once he flexed it, it was HUGE!!! And SO defined!!!  My face was so warm, and I'm sure I turned red!!  Oh my gosh, he suddenly got a million times hotter!!  I have no idea how I finished that conversation because my mind was racing and thinking how hot this man is!!  

On the drive home, Darci told me that she commented on my FB status as well as someone else....

"Sorry Ehu, it was probably me. I always look intense when I'm at church. But I normally have good intentions. :)"  

It was from Sonny.  I kinda felt bad that he caught that, because I didn't think he read things on my FB.  Yikes.  But I'm glad he felt the need to apologize.  We'll see if I talk to him again at church.  I really don't want a repeat of his "intense" look again.  I just wish I knew him better.  With that said, I'll be seeing him tomorrow at Softball.  Wish me luck.  

((Ok.....now for my friend Ame....))

I went on a date last night (Sunday night).  It was with this guy I've been talking to.  We'll call him Pokemon.  Well he told me he was a nerd, but I didn't realize how literal he meant it.  Just because he's into comics, Sci-Fi movies, Comic-Con, & Halo, didn't exactly mean that he was a nerd, right?  Wrong.  That's basically his whole life.  In fact, he's already planning his Pokemon Trainer/Ash Ketchum costume!! He was so proud of the Pokemon catcher he made, that he brought it to our date, last night.  Oh, have I mentioned that he's 26 years old and never been kissed!!   He wasn't exactly my type...no I take that back, he wasn't my type at all.  I couldn't turn down his request of a date, I would have felt terrible.  Well, I had to push the date back by a half hour and figured I'd go ahead and eat dinner (thinking he'd do the same, since it was past the dinner hour).  Well, he didn't eat, so while we were at the Coronado Ferry Landing, he went ahead and bought himself some food.  I thought it was a lil rude that he didn't offer to at least buy me a drink, when I insisted that he eat, even though I wasn't going to.  Was I wrong to think that?  Nor did he offer to let me taste it.  Maybe it's just me, but I would have offered it to him, if the roles were reversed.  His jokes were LAME!!!  I couldn't pity laugh anymore, I was socially exhausted.  He told me he was nervous, but I tried to put him at  ease.  While he was ordering his food, I looked around and saw a movie poster for, Goodfellas.  I asked if he'd ever seen it and he quickly said, no.  Then with a self righteous tone, he asked me if I'd ever seen, Deep Space Nine.  I said, "no", and he snapped back saying, "See, same difference!!"  I was beyond myself....who the hell acts like that?!  I was just trying to make conversation.  It was obvious that he was socially awkward and it was going to be an odd night.  The only thing that kept me sane on this date, was thinking of Sonny's arm, from earlier in the day.  It was like pulling teeth trying to talk to him. On the phone, it was great, but in person, it SUCKED!!!  No personality at all.  I feel sorry for the guy.  I think he needs a Hitch in his life, someone to coach him a lil about the ins and outs of dating & women. He was kinda nice, but just very inexperienced, he was like a boy in a man's body.  I hope he gets kissed soon....26 and a VL....poor guy.  

Sunday Seafood & Saturday Softballl & Scriptures.

Yesterday was my parents' 50th anniversary.  We went to South Bay Fish & Grill to celebrate it.  I liked the idea of eating seafood on the harbor. Makes me think of last Sunday's date with Swiss.  Oh Swiss....  I was suppose to see him today, but was with family instead.  Our next date will be at the airport. I know...THE AIRPORT!!! I'm excited because I really like the airport here in San Diego! It just makes me so happy to see.  It's quite the beauty!  I think the airport is under appreciated because most people are rushing around and are too busy to notice how great of a place it is.  I've always wanted to have a date there because I never really get to eat there.  I also I like watching people.  Have you ever noticed how happy some people are there?  I love flying in to San Diego because even after I've gone somewhere else, I get to come home to SAN DIEGO!!!!  America's Finest City!  I LOVE IT HERE!!

Yesterday was also our first softball game. Oh man.... I somehow need to lose 100 lbs. by our next game. Man oh man, I am NOT a runner. I need to be.  I also need to be better at batting. I mean, Tat and I went to the batting cages the night before and I totally rocked it!  But man, the next day, I SUUUUUUUCKED!!!!  Seriously, I couldn't hit the ball to save my life.  What the heck?!?!   Ugh.....   I was nervous as heck!!! My heartbeat was racing and practically pounding through my chest!!!!  I can just kiss Sonny {formerly known as, "Iam"} goodbye.  Seriously.  I was a pathetic excuse of a player yesterday. I feel VERY humbled because I was totally out of my element. I was scared of the ball.   I was hit during church softball once, so I've been traumatized ever since.  But still... I'm pretty sure Sonny thinks I'm a complete idiot. I couldn't really face him at church today.  I doubt I'll be talking to him much outside of softball now.  By the way, our team name is, "The Dirty Pickles".  Not really my favorite.  I submitted the name, "Pitch Slap" because I can't help but chuckle every time I hear it. :)  As for the rest of the team, I totally like them all.  They're all chill and GREAT players!  I think I'm the weakest link. :( 

Today at church, I was a lil bummed. Happy to have my friend Ame back but sad that Vans wasn't there. He moved out of the ward last week.  He was my first friend in the ward and reminded me of Mr. Red and all of our times of hangin' out at church together.  I'm bummed but I know he'll be happier in his new ward.  I'm oh so grateful to have Ame back in town.  She's such a cool, chill chick!!

I was reading Mosiah 25-28 {Book of Mormon} today during Sacrament Meeting and thoroughly enjoying it. I haven't studied from the BOM in a long time and in the last blessing I received from my awesome Home Teacher, I was advised to read the scriptures more and pray a lot more.  I can't wait to read more from Mosiah and start Alma. I know I didn't exactly start reading the BOM from the beginning, but let's just be grateful I'm reading it again.  I can't help but feel like I need to make some course corrections in my life.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to read the scriptures.  I NEED to start doing that more often. A LOT more often.