Life & Death.

This past week, I've been thinking a lot about my ol' stake president and Runia, who passed away the week before.  He was a guy from my mission in New Jersey. I didn't know him all too well, but he was always so nice and cheerful about the Gospel.  Such a great spirit!  I couldn't believe that one of my fellow missionaries had died, so soon! He was married with four young children.  A life gone too soon.
Earlier this week, I also found out that my choir friends' baby girl unexpectedly passed away from SIDS. I just couldn't believe it, yet another death.  I was feeling sad and heavyhearted.  It helps me realize that life is a lot more precious than we think, that those we love can be gone in an instant--no matter the age.  
While my heart was grieved with such sadness, I felt like the clouds started to part when I received word that a dear friend gave birth to a long awaited baby girl.  I could feel the tears well up in my eyes because just over a year ago, she lost her first baby daughter the day after she was born.  I was (and still am) very ecstatic for her and her lil family.  What a joy & a blessing!
Life comes and goes....  but I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation, to know that there's more {much, much more!} after this life.  What a blessing and comfort in times of loss.  So grateful...so, so grateful.

Baked.

To start this off; I am NOT a baker. Baking isn't something I particularly enjoy.  My sister's always been the baker, so when she whips up the most incredible brownies, banana bread, cookies, etc, from scratch--I'd rather eat the goodies, than even try to compete with her skills!  Besides, the last few times that I've baked, I somehow burn myself.  NOT FUN.  I rather cook because I like seeing/tasting results immediately.  

A few weeks ago, I came across a great recipe on my favorite blog and thought I could try it.  Well last night, after a few days of having brown bananas, I thought I would finally try it---you know, baking.  

I've gotta say, the results were AMAZING!!! For such an easy recipe, it tasted SOOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY!!!  

 

When I got home from work today, this is all that was left....

Glad to know that I wasn't the only one that thought it tasted amazing! ;)

Definitely add the chocolate chips!! Oh man, you will thank yourself (and me, too!) that you did! I never had it in banana bread before, but man, I plan on including it from now on! I'm not gonna lie when I say that I'll most likely be making this banana bread very, VERY soon!!

Julian!

This past weekend, Levi and I headed up to Julian  It's about a 50 mile trip up the mountain.  I haven't been to Julian since I was a teenager, and in that time I totally forgot about how windy the road is on the way to Julian  Oh man, I should have taken a Dramamine!  I'm so glad Levi drove.
Anywhooo, we got up to Julian and walked around, checking out all the lil shops on Main Street.

 We were also able to get some great shots of the fall foliage....

It was so wonderful to see the beautiful colors that Autumn has to offer!  It makes me long for the east coast!!  I miss it so much! I miss seeing so many trees with red, orange and yellow leaves!  I'm so glad I can get a lil piece of New Jersey, here in San Diego!
We walked around and took more photos! I love going on photo adventures with Levi.

 Julian's such a quaint lil town that sometimes it's hard to believe that it exists here in San Diego.  I love being able to go from the ocean to the mountain in just under 60 miles.
To complete our lil Julian adventure, we had to eat some yummy apple pie, of course! Julian's known for their apples, apple pies & apple cider!  Oh man! We hit up Julian Pie Co. and that windy trip up the mountain was all worth it!

 I ordered the Caramel Dutch Apple Pie with Cinnamon Ice Cream! Oh man---AMAZINGLY DELISH!!! I seriously LOVED IT!!!!!!  Levi ordered the Dutch Apple Pie w/ Vanilla Ice Cream, and we both had the Hot Caramel Apple Cider (which was HEAVENLY!!!!!)
All in all, it was a lot of fun and I always love any reason I have to pull out my pea coat! It was a bit chilly up in there, about 55 degrees! Wowzers!  But I loved it though! Thanks for the great idea, Levi!

Aloha 'Oe Pres. Clove

Today, my heart is comforted by the words of a church hymn.....

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord.
Thou sendest blessings from above
Through words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

When such a friend from us departs
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.


For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise thy goodness Lord above.

I found out this morning that my ol' stake president, Ric passed away.  I wish I had written him a note like I wanted to, a couple months ago.  I learned so much from him!  I enjoyed every single time he would speak at stake conferences.  I LOVED IT!! I was always captivated every time he spoke.  I will miss his infectious smile and the Christ-like love that he had for everyone.  
I know that many lives, especially those in the Chula Vista Stake, have been changed for good just by knowing this good man.  As it says in Matthew 7:20, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them",  I know he was a good man, because of the children he had.  Two of his five children, are my friends and they are such kind, thoughtful & intelligent people.  
Pres. Clove will forever have a special place in my heart and I will always be grateful that I had the opportunity to know him.  

Aloha 'Oe, Pres. Clove...until we meet again.

Who says San Diego doesn't have seasons?!

Julian, California

I think this photo would say otherwise. 

Julian's probably one of my new favorite Fall places (besides the east coast, of course!) 

Dia de los Muertos.

Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite holidays.  My sister & I try to celebrate it down in Old Town, by checking out the exhibits and eating at one of the many great eateries.  This year, her two youngest kids came along, as well as Levi.  

We ate at Berta's Latin American Restaurant.  To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of it.  I ordered a Columbian dish, but I think my palate is use to Mexican food.  I'm way ok with that!
We walked around Old Town and bought a few trinkets...and lost a some, too.
   

I love Sugar Skulls!  I like to think I have a collection, but I have 2 so far. While walking around, I don't know how/where I lost one of my earrings.  I'm way bummed about that! Especially since they were a gift, from Ame. Dangit.  

I really enjoyed looking at some of the displays, especially those created from rice, beans, kernels & saw dust.  How beautiful and creative!! It was a nice night out celebrating Dia de los Muertos.  

How I spent my day in bed...

BEST. LAUGHS. EVER. !!!

The Kids.

As my sister's been out of town this week, I've enjoyed the extra time I've been able to spend with my youngest nephew & niece.  We've had them over for dinner a few times this week, and afterwards we'd play Speed or Egyptian War.  I know it's a simple thing, but I've really enjoyed the little time we do get to spend together.  They're growing up so fast, so I know that they'd rather spend their free time with their own friends.  I get it.  I was 12 & 18 years old once.  It's hard to believe that my two older nephews are 23 & 21 and living out on their own in another state.  I miss seeing them. 

How in the world does time fly so quickly?  I wish I could just bottle up time and keep all my nephews & nieces so young. I feel so old when I feel like this.  Then I start to wonder how I'll be when I have my own children someday.  I think I'll be even more nostalgic & sentimental.  Yikes--not good!  I mean seriously, it hurts my heart just a lil when I think of how old all my nephews & nieces are.  They are such kind hearted, intelligent and funny individuals.  I see so much goodness in them that I count my lucky stars that I get to have a front row seat to their lives.  How lucky am I!

I can see the weekend from here....

-Dude, it's been a long week. I feel like the weekend is forever away. 

-Tomorrow night, Levi and I are taking my nephew & niece to the Whaley House.  We didn't have a lot of time to do much else while we were in Old Town last week for Dia de los Muertos.  They've never been so we're looking forward to taking them.  I think Old Town Mexican Restaurant is calling our names.  Love that place!

-I need to get my hair trimmed, this weekend.  I figure if I'm doing a lil Ehu Prep, that I might go for a pedicure as well.   I think this lil pampering will make me feel quite lovely since SharkWeek/Moon Week is this week.  Speakin' of which.....

-I have a friend who created this trippy cool website dedicated to women's menstrual cycles.  Seriously, there's a lot more there than you'd think.  Check it out! I love reading the blogs! Learned quite a bit and enjoyed knowing that I'm not the only one that has rough periods.  I think what's way cool about the website, is that you can order menstrual products from around the world. It comes in a sweet lil package that includes chocolate, tea & limited edition art print.  How cool is that?!?! 

-Can I just that I really enjoy where I work?!  The cashiers are sweet and oh so funny! I wish I spoke more Spanish so I could understand all of their jokes.  I'm glad that I work with my sister, she's good at what she does.  The general manager is way funny and I'm glad he appreciates my "kick ass" performance. {those were his words}.  Sometimes I could do without MotorMouth, but what are ya gonna do.  Gotta take the good with the bad. :-/ I like the vibe here and the food here is awesome!  

-I'm so glad to have the NutriBullet extractor blade again! Hellooooo smoothies!!!  LOVE IT!!

-For Valentines Day, my sweetheart made me the most beautiful Hope Chest!  I love it. However, I haven't filled it...or put anything in it, AT ALL. I feel bad. I mean, I LOVE to look at it and feel the grain of the woods. It's just so beautiful!  I want to buy & put bed linens in it, but I'm always unsure what size of bed we'll get.  We don't need silverware or plates, so what does that leave me to fill it with? I just want to put something in it so it seems like I truly appreciate it.  I think I need to just roam the aisles of Bed, Bath & Beyond or Ikea til I feel inspired.  Yep, that must be it!

-At work, 98% of the employees are fluent in Spanish.  A lot of them can barely speak Spanish.  I think it's funny when they whisper in front of me. If only they knew.........I don't really speak Spanish.  With all my heart, I wish I could speak Spanish, fluently.  Oh well, someday.....

-Man, it's still Thursday....  I need to do laundry.  I got away with wearing the same two pants this week.The blessing of Febreeze.  Kinda gross but effective.  I can't rotate the same pants 3x in one week, especially since i'm gonna see Levi tomorrow night.  Yep, I'm definitely doing laundry tonight.  

Locket.

I like jewelry.  I think it's fun to look at, wear and most especially receive.  I've been really wanting a silver locket, with a long chain.
Fortunately/Unfortunately, I just joined Etsy.
A-D-D-I-C-T-I-N-G!!!
Seriously, I want to look at EVERYTHING and buy it ALL!!
Not good.....but oh so fun!!

So I've been wanting a large oval silver locket, with a long chain, that has a vintage look.  I feel so picky when it comes to jewelry, sometimes.  I've been wanting a locket that I could put my sweetheart's photo in.  I feel like it's something old women do, but there's something so sweet about wearing a locket.
We'll see what I can find.  I might end up being an old lady by the time I find the one I want.

And then Tuesday happened....

I'm not gonna lie, work was damn difficult today.

MotorMouth was already on a rampage the second I walked into the office.  It wasn't a great way to start off the day.  It was A LOT to take in all at once.  I wish I was able to train more with my sister before she left on vacation.  It sucks that even though she's on vacation, she still has to work on stuff for the office.  

I'm not gonna go into detail about how much today sucked.  It made me grateful for two things:

-I had a client come in needing a receipt, from Saturday, for his coworker.  He didn't provide a lot of information, and all the info he did provide was basically in Spanish.  It was kinda hard because we were both struggling trying to understand each other.  It took me about 15 minutes to find the transaction he needed and he was ever so grateful!  All of it was nearly a miracle and really brightened my day!  I felt like I helped at least one person today and it made all the morning stress & junk worth it.

-I'm so grateful for Levi.  He listens to me when I call him, spitting mad, because I'm feeling overwhelmed, inadequate & frustrated all at once.  He listens and wants to help me see the upside to any situation.  He's so good at that.  And I'm glad that he lets me vent, no matter how colorful, and still sees me as a cute & sweet fiancee.  He's the best.  

Well, I'm glad I survived today.... like I was telling Levi, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger....and then it prepares you for the zombie apocalypse"  {or something like that}

After picking up my niece from middle school, we had to get some ice cream.  I guess middle school can be just as frustrating as dealing with MotorMouth at work.  

Dude, it's Monday.

*This picture makes me laugh!

*I always have THE BEST weekends with Levi! He's just so much fun and we laugh so much.  I just realized this morning, that yesterday was our monthly anniversary.  Lucky #13!  I love that man!

*So I'm into Walking Dead, now.  Sometimes, when I'm driving, I like to think about how I could survive a zombie apocalypse.  Yeah....it's really random, but you never know...it could come in handy, someday. {but I really hope not}

*I survived Day 1 of my sister not being in the office.  My motor mouth coworker and I didn't strangle each other.  Then again, we're still in the "honeymoon stage".  We've still got 5 more days together. Pray for me.

*Movies I can't wait to see: Bad Grandpa, Gravity & Thor.  

*My iPod that I've had since 2007, that had 11,000+ songs, died.  It just quit working.  I didn't drop it, and in fact, it was in really great shape!  I'm so bummed.  So I bought a used one (I didn't really care) and so far I only have 800 songs on my iTunes.  Sad, sad day.  I'm bummed that I lost so much music, but honestly, I wanted a new iPod.  My old one was engraved from an exbf.  However, I have to return the "new" one because it's acting weird and not downloading my 800 songs.  Lame.  I think I'll just myself a (real) new one, after all.  Happy Thanksgiving to myself.

*Ok, I'd go on with the randomosities, but I'm gonna go home now.  10 hours chained to my desk makes for a very long day. 

No recuerdo.....

Hey Ehu,
Remember that one time, about 2 months ago, when you wrote down some unit prices and thought you entered it in inventory?  Then you found yourself, 2 months later, wishing you kept that dang piece of paper that had the prices you need....so that you didn't find yourself at work til 7pm, on a Monday night, after already working 10 hours.  

Sincerely,
Your tired self.

Damnit.

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!