Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Two Thousand Fourteen!

        2013 is coming to an end.

        A lot has happened to the Monaco/Nakayama family this year. Let's see...


* January*
-Dad got remarried to a woman named Karen who was is his high school sweetheart.
-I started my last semester at SAC.
-Janna started her 2nd semester at Texas A&M.
-We moved back to Texas.
-Devin got out of the Army.
-Devin and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.
-I got a job as a home health caregiver at Visiting Angels.
*February*
- Janna celebrated her 19th birthday.
*March*
-Devin moved to Florida.
-Karen celebrated her birthday.
-Devin's mom celebrated her birthday.
*April*
-Devin started at MMI ( Motorcycle Mechanic Institute).
-Devin's dad celebrated his birthday.
*May*
-I graduated from SAC with my Associates in Pre-Nursing.
*June*
-I moved to Florida.
-I got a job at a telemarketing office.
-Devin's brother in law Jules celebrated his birthday.
*July*
-Devin celebrated his 25th birthday.
-Devin's brother Brodie and his sister Tanicia celebrated their birthdays.
-My aunt and uncle came to visit us in Florida.
-We visited Epcot.
-I got a promotion at work.
*August*
- I found out I got into Nursing School.
-We went saw my grandma and aunt and uncle in Arlington.
*September*
-Isabella, our niece, celebrated her 10th birthday.
*October*
-Gage, our nephew, celebrated his 12th birthday.
-Jules came back from Korea.
-Devin's cousin Mercedes got married.
*November*
- My mom's 2nd anniversary of her passing.
-We visited Devin's sister and her family for Thanksgiving in TN.
*December*
- I celebrated my 23rd birthday.
- I moved back to Texas.
-We got to celebrate Christmas with our families.

I can tell 2014 will be a great year with me starting nursing school and Devin finishing up BMW in March and then starting either Kawaski or Harley. Have a fun and safe New Years my friends.

Always remember to pray for eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.
 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Now that it's almost a month since Thanksgiving I guess it's the perfect time to talk about how adventure to Tennessee!

Wednesday, night before Thanksgiving:
 I am home about 20 minutes since getting off from work throwing clothes into a bag waiting for Devin to get home from school. I am running around like a chicken with head cut off ( per usual) making sure I am not forgetting one thing! ( Of course I made my usual list so I would be triple sure not to forget a thing.) Devin gets home about 6pm so once he changes out of his school clothes he is ready to load up the car. Now that it's about 6:45pm we are finally ready to hit the road! Stop by Wendy's for a very nutritious dinner (lol) and are ready to fight the traffic! To our fortunate deck of cards, no traffic! Wow God is definitely watching over us. We make into Macon,GA around 1am, find a lovely Motel 6 ( since they leave the light on for ya) and get ready to lay our heads on the pillow. Well..... as I am fluffing my pillow and pulling the sheets back I notice lots of black hair. Not human hair. Dog hair or cat hair either way it was animal hair. My jaw fell to the ground in amazement. The maid clearly placed the pillow strategically over the crazy amount of hair in hopes no one would lift it up. Wrongo! I was that person who looked under the pillow ( as if I was awaiting money from the tooth fairy or something).  I must have made some kind of grunt because Devin yells out, "what?!", I replied," Oh just some hair," He replies," eh dust it off you'll be fine." So I dusted it off and went on my marry way to dream of fried turkey. :) Woke up the next day bright and early, showered, changed, and packed up.

Thursday, Thanksgiving day:
We drive thru a Mickey D's before we get on the road. At the first window, where you pay, was this volumptious southern gal who told us in a very southern Georgia accent, "Happy Thanksgiving." I looked Devin in shock as we pull up to the 2nd window to get our food. The lady at this window was also very sweet and wished us a Happy Thanksgiving as well. We couldn't believe how nice they were. We pretty much decided that even though Florida is a southern state for some reason the southern hospitality ( at least in Orlando) completely skipped Florida and finished off in Georgia, South Carolina etc. Now we are on the road to Clarksville and we are enjoying no traffic on the highways and the beautiful scenery. Finally we see a sign that says, "Welcome to Tennessee!" We are so excited until we see a sign that says, "Welcome to Georgia!" Whoa whoa whoa... what? I thought we just left GA how are we back in GA? We look at the GPS and it looks like the way the highway goes you go into TN then back to GA and then back to TN. Low and behold we see a sign that says, "Welcome to Tennessee," again. I guess that's what happened then. We ended up making great time to my sister in laws, without speeding (I promise we did the speed limit the entire time because the GA police officers were out!) the whole way. It was so nice to see a familiar face and relax and enjoy being around family. So being aunt and uncle we had to bring Bella and Gage their christmas present. Since we don't have kids of our own it's game on to spoil our niece and nephew.  They got RC cars. Not the little dinky one from Walmart or Toys R Us. The ones from the RC hobby shop that they can upgrade throughout their life. No it wasn't cheap but hey they are only young once. :) They were so excited! They charged up real quick and went running outside with them. RC cars = success.

Friday, day after Thanksgiving aka Black Friday & Saturday:
 My family and Devin's family haven't really been ones to seek out Black Friday stuff. On occasion we will participate, but it isn't a tradition or a have to. We enjoyed Thanksgiving left overs and headed out to explore. We went to some RC hobby shops and went to the mall in Nashville. It was a very low key relaxing couple of days with much needed family time.

Sunday, journey back to Florida:
Devin and I enjoyed some breakfast tacos with the kiddos and Jules and Tish. We planned on leaving early, but we prolonged our departure since we didn't want to return to Orlando. We had a blast and were sad it was coming to an end. We left around 9am and traffic wasn't too bad until we hit a huge jam about an hour or so outside of Georgia. I pulled out my handy iphone and used the Waze app. ( FYI it is amazing! Shows you pretty much everything in route and you are able to communicate with others to spot out what exactly is going on.) The jam finally cleared up and then we hit another one right outside of Atlanta. This was one was worse. I fell asleep for about 30 minutes and woke up and we literally moved like a few exits. Luckily, someone on Waze suggested a different route and our GPS re-calculated correctly. Apparently, a car had caught on fire creating a huge huge mess! Even though we got home later than planned we were fortunate to make it home safely.

Overall, we had an awesome time at my sister in laws drinking, eating, laughing, and playing with kids. We are beyond blessed to have such an amazing family. So friends please remember to pray for eyes that see the best in the people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad and a soul that never loses faith in God. 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Mencia and the Motorcycle Re build

     Saturday, we went and saw Carlos Mencia! I have been excited to see him for like a month now! I bought the tickets in early October and was stoked that the day was finally here! A co-worker of mine just moved into a new place so she invited us over for lunch and was gracious enough to let us use her washer and dryer so we wouldn't have to go to the laundromat. ( Boy! was that relaxing! I hate the laundromat!!!) When we got done eating lunch, we just sat and relaxed while chit chatting with my co-worker and her boyfriend.

     Devin gets a text message that a package for the bike project he is doing has arrived for him. He tells me we need to stop by the house on the way to the comedy club so he can put the package inside the house. I said ok because it was on the way. Well, it wasn't exactly on the way. The Improv was on the opposite side of I-drive so Devin says he needs to go back now so no one will take the package. I give him the "Are you kidding me" look and decided whatever might as well go. So he heads back to the house so he can meet us in time at the comedy club. My friend is done getting ready so we head out.

     Devin calls for directions to the parking garage we are in. Well, out of the 4 of us my friend's boyfriend is from Orlando, but he didn't know his way around very well. I am horrible with directions. I use landmarks for everything. Devin has advised me for years to remember street names because the landmarks could not be there one day. Oh well I'm stubborn and still use landmarks! Luckily, he found us.

     So we get into the club, grab a drink, and get seated. I was so glad we did not sit right in front of the stage. I did not want to get made fun of or spit on! We had awesome seats in the second row! The food and drinks were good for a club and the atmosphere was very enjoyable! Carlos Mencia was soooo funny! I laughed the entire time, while also laughing very loudly in Devin's ear! ( He sat in front of me at the table) Before the show ends, a guy comes up to us and has us fill out a survey and then hands us tickets to come back to the Improv. Super cool! I love winning stuff! At the end of the show, we go stand in line to get our picture taken with Carlos and get his autograph. Devin rushes out to the bathroom since he didn't go the entire show and misses getting his picture taken! I think I was more upset that he missed out than he was. The line moved way faster than I thought.

     We walked out to the car, told my friend bye, and drove back home.

     This morning my throat was killing me! I obviously had a good time since I laughed so hard and loud that my throat was sore! I'm a little hoarse, but oh well. We had a lot of things to mark off on our to do list. We are going to visit Devin's sister, brother in law and niece and nephew for Thanksgiving so we had a lot to get done before our departure to Hickville. :)

     We got the kids their christmas present so we had to wrap them up. The floors needed to be swept and mopped along with the bathroom getting scrubbed down and we needed to clean the bird cage and put laundry up. Needless to say, we have been up and running since about 8am ( I think Devin actually woke up at 7am) and are watching now watching Hook.

     Devin worked on the 1982 550 GTZ ( I probably wrote the wrong model) he bought last weekend as a project bike. The guy who he got it from couldn't get it to run because he thought the engine was locked up. Devin figured out how to make it run today. He has been cleaning it up and fixing this that and the other all week. He's even reading the service manual on the bike. He wants me to ride it once it's already to go. I sat on it and tried to imagine myself riding down the road, but I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to ride a motorcycle. Anyways, at least we know MMI is worth the money and the time since he has shown what he's learned in real life.

     Our new Monaco family member, Squirt the Lovebird, has decided that he doesn't like me. He is definitely Devin's lover. He tries to get me when I go change his water in the morning or put new food in. He bit me the other day on my neck so now I'm over it. I know I should play with him more, but honestly I only enjoy dogs. Devin is THE animal lover. When we were dating, he got two cornsnakes. I did hold them and they never bit me. Devin found them to be cuddly in their own slithering way. Now that is the true definition of an animal lover.

     Well, I'm gunna put my feet up, pop in another movie, or watch some On Demand and relax until Monday morning at 7am rolls around. Thanks for continuing to read about me and my life :) I can't believe I have almost 2,000 views! Incredible.

Always remember to pray for eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

    

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Trust in God with all your heart

  Everyday on my way to work and right before I close my eyes to go to sleep, I pray. I pray for us, our friends, and our family. I always end my prayer with what I end my blog with, "Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people,etc."  I never took the time to step back and see if God did answer my prayers. I figured eh it'll happen when it happens and I'll thank him later. Over the past few months, I have taken the time to acknowledge God's work in action.

   One of my good friends at work has been struggling a bit. She is a wonderful person who constantly puts others before herself. She is living paycheck to paycheck and is doing a damn good job at being a single mom. She is such a strong person and I admire all these amazing attributes she obtains. I prayed that she would no longer have to struggle the way she is and be able to get to a place where she could relax and just work to have extra money on the side. Ladies and gents, my prayers were most definitely answered. She is moving in with her boyfriend here soon! They found a quaint apartment on a good side of town and you can just see how she lights up when he walks in to our office. I am beyond happy for her. :)

  That is just one example. There are a few more but I think y'all get the jist. Don't take the things God does for granted. I know there are times when it may seem that God is not around, but he is. I have to constantly remind myself when times are hard that God would not put something in my path that I could not handle. I ask that you do the same.

   We were just blessed beyond belief recently. We found out Devin got approved for 30% disability from the military. His unemployment was extended and he is doing phenomenal in school. He will soon move on to doing his elective classes and it will be a breeze from there on out. He won't be done until Feb 2015, but I will be done with one year of nursing school and he will move back to San Antonio and begin his career as a motorcycle mechanic. I am so thankful for how blessed we have been and continue to be.

   So friends and family, remember God does answer our prayers. Sometimes not in the way we would like him to,but we have to remember he has a plan for all of us. We need to keep faith and trust in him daily.

     Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Bring it on!

    At the end of August, I found out I was accepted into nursing school! Yipee! I have since been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to balance work and getting all of the my requirements done for school such as CPR training, background check,etc. I am happy to say I am done with all of those things and now all I need to do is register and go to orientation!
   
    It's a little bittersweet because I'll have to leave Florida, where Devin is, and move in back in (temporarily) with my dad and step mom. It'll work out better that way because then I won't have to stress about having a job that will pay for living expenses and bills. I can just focus on bills. (Who said being a grown up is fun anyways?!)

    Work has been NUTS! NUTS I TELL YOU! I am now head of customer service and they want me to run a separate office of only customer service. I have never moved up so fast in a job than this one. Since things were just starting out when I first got hired, they needed people to move up as things got bigger and they got bigger FAST!

   We went home for a weekend a couple of weeks ago for Devin's cousin Mercedes' wedding. It was beautiful. It was super TEXAS hot but it was beautiful. Also, it was the shortest weekend known to man so needless to say we a bit upset that we couldn't stay longer. We'd thought about going home for Thanksgiving but plane tickets are espensive!!! ( must say with spanish accent, no offense) We are still working out what we are going to do for Thanksgiving. Devin would like to go for a motorcycle ride to Timbuktu while I would like to go for a ride to the outlet mall. :)

     The Florida weather is getting cooler so it's more enjoyable to take a ride on the motorcycle now. A couple of months ago we almost had heat strokes because of how hot it was sitting at the stoplights to go from our house to blockbuster 7 miles down the road. We just did a Ride for the Cure for Breast Cancer Awareness last weekend and the weather was amazing! Sooooo Devin decided let's go down to Miami and then Key West for Thanksgiving since he has a 4 day weekend. Let's just say these plans are still in the making...

     You see there is this "bridge" or as I call it "THE BRIDGE OF NO RETURN". I don't know I have this 'thing' with bridges, especially HIGH bridges. For example, ALL my San Antonio peeps, y'all know the new connector highway thingymagig that they built to help traffic out for people traveling down 1604 towards Stone Oak that connects them to 281 heading towards the airport. Well that overpass is SERIOUSLY the highest thing in the entire world! I feel like I am going to fall off the face of the earth everytime I get on there. I accidentally took it once because I didn't know they added that when I moved back. Then Devin took it out on the motorcycle when we were going to Embassy Movie Theater and purposely rode the shoulder so I would be even more freaked out! OH MY HOLY JESUS! Now I will take the exit to wait at the light and then go wayyy up to get onto 281 just so I don't have to use that overpass. So since to drive from Miami to Key West there is this bridge that is like 100 miles long I am a bit skeptical.

     Again, we  are still making the plans :)

Quick Family updates:
     My grandma aka Momo just turned 91. Janna pierced her nose and then FINALLY decided to take that crazy thing out because she was getting a keloid inside her nostril. My dad and Karen are still living up the retired life. Devin is enjoying school and continuing to be the lovable, pain in my rump, bbq master, caring husband he always is. Devin's parents and Memaw are doing well as well as his brother Brodie. Tish and Jules and the kids just moved to Tennessee and are getting adjusted.

    Nothing real exciting is going on in the Monaco household. Hope I didn't bore ya too much :)

Remember:

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad and a soul that never loses faith in God.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Dream a little dream of me


             I know there is a website you can visit where your dreams get analyzed. I also know that there are people out there in the world that you can pay for them to analyze your dreams as well. I prefer to do my own analyzing.

              Friday night, I dreamed of Theresa Caputo, The Long Island Medium. Meeting her in person is truly something I would like to check off my bucket list one day. I have put myself on her waiting list so her and I could possibly communicate with my mom. I feel that by trying to do I would know that my mom didn't suffer. We tried to make sure she had pain medication around the clock and that she was being forced to stay on Earth for our own sake. God knew it was her time and we had to let nature take its course rather than putting a feeding tube in and watching her be a vegetable pretty much just so she could still physically be here.

             On facebook the other day, Theresa had posted that she is doing another tour and tickets would be available soon. I remember thinking I should go and see how much and where, but I didn't. I guess that sprung a thought in my brain later in the night.

              So I ran into Theresa while out I guess ( because we weren't in my house or hers) and she begins to communicate with my mom. She says, "Your mom wants you to know that she didn't suffer. She knew who you were the moment you walked into the room. She's sorry she couldn't say anything." I just turned to mush. I said, " I know that's what I thought. I just wanted to be sure." Theresa says, " Your mom is very proud of you making it into nursing school." I said, "What? I haven't found yet." Theresa replies, "Oops! Well surprise!" She thanked me for listening and off I went. Our mini session was over.

              Last night, I dreamed of sitting in my high school cafeteria awaiting the answer as to if I "got in or not". I sat among numerous girls awaiting the answer. At first, in my dream, I think that I am sitting here waiting to hear if I got into nursing school. As more girls got up with smiling faces, I thought no this has to be something else. Someone comes by the girls I am sitting with and hands them a decorated paper plate ( weird I know, but hey that's what they were given). The person tells them " I'm very sorry, but you didn't make it." They take the plate, grab their things, and walk out. I am now the only person at my table. All of a sudden a girl I went to high school appears at the microphone and says, "It was a tough decision, but we narrowed it down to the last two.Luci you will be joining us next year." Some other girl comes running up to me and congratulates me on making into Dollies again. I'm super excited and call my dad and sister and Devin. Once I get to Devin, I realized wait a minute I thought I was waiting to hear about nursing school. As I leave the building to get into my car, it's raining. Actually it's flooding. I can barely walk to get out to my car. Devin is walking with me and he says, "That's so awesome! I'm so glad you got in!" It's like he new, and everyone else I called too, what I was awaiting to hear good news about. I woke up a little confused and tried to go back to sleep so my dream could finish, but I couldn't. I hate it when that happens.


           So my analysis is that, yes I am stressed about whether or not I am going to get into nursing school. I haven't exactly felt too stressed nor have I been a mess waiting to hear. I have been checking my email religiously since I found out Aug 21 would be the earliest day I would hear.I still haven't gotten anything, but I have til the end of next week still. So I am dreaming about that because it's subconsciously on my mind. I believe that if I ,or anyone else for that matter, dreams about my mom talking to them it really is her communicating with us. Maybe she knows something I don't. She was always very positive and optimistic, so I'm sure she is the same person in heaven. The only difference is that she has angels wings and can be with God everyday. I know he is watching over us everyday. We may experience tribulations every now and then, but he has proved that he does not give us anything we cannot handle. He has a plan for us. I believe the plan he has laid out for me about my career has been chosen. I know I am wanted in the medical field. After doing home health care and being a CNA, I have found my calling.

           With UCF and other colleges in Florida that offer nursing ,not exactly being ideal, was God's way of saying, " Look you searched it out and discovered it's not the best situation. So now you know what you should really do." I know Devin wants to do 3 different courses at MMI. I only want him to do 2 if not 1 because I don't want him to be away any longer, but I know God has a plan for him and both of us. If we have to be apart a little longer than preferred, God knows what he is doing. Because again, he doesn't give us anything he knows we cannot handle.


           Once again remember,
 Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Mani/Pedi Day

    I got promoted at work recently and I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. I am always busy. I went from being someone who sat and waited for a call to come in to someone who is either replying to a business email, answering the phone/someone's question, not being able to have a moment to think and never leaving on time.

     Last week, I had to turn in my UTHSCSA nursing school questions. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to do them, but every time I came home I felt so worn out. Luckily, I had the weekend to complete them and send them to my dad and my aunt to triple check everything made sense and was good to go. Now, I have to wait til the end of the month til I find out if I got in or not.

   One night, I decided to bring some work home with me so I wouldn't have so much to do the next day to where I could possibly leave early! Well, it must have been a sign from God because as I am cleaning up my email somehow it jumped from the trash folder to the inbox and PURGED everything! ( Yes, I cried.) I couldn't believe it. I put my face in my hands,had a little hissy fit, and wanted to crawl into a hole. Devin comes over to see if he can help since I am computer illiterate when it comes to 'fixing' what was done. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. I tried calling the email tech support and they couldn't help me because I didn't have my work's account information. I couldn't believe I had just lost everything I had received from July 23-Aug 7. Devin advised me to just go to bed and not worry about it. He said, " Everyone makes mistakes." I was just so damn worried that I was going to walk into work and tell them what happened and looks of "what the hell?!!"

    The next morning Devin tells me that I never left work because throughout the night I was yelling in my sleep, as if I was talking to people at work, telling them what they did wrong and so on. I was obviously very stressed about trying to get all the work I needed to finish done and then it was just the cherry on top having 3 weeks worth of emails gone forever!

     So  I go into work and talk with the IT guy about my  little mishap and he spoke with the email tech support and supplied them with the information I couldn't give. All they could was get my emails up to Aug 6 back but hey that was better than nothing! I did some recon to figure out what I had lost and so forth, so no I wasn't banished from work for eternity nor was I objected to have my head chopped off like I was expecting. :) ( Yes, I tend to over exaggerate)

     Last night was a good stress reliever. We went to downtown disney for a kiss tribute concert at the House of Blues. It was so much fun. I had a cherry vodka sour and Devin had a 24 oz budlight and it was freaking $17 for that! I was like hmmm I think this maybe my only drink, until I sipped it and it tasted like cough medicine. The first time I had a cherry vodka sour was at New Year's and it was delicious! This one not so much. So I tried something else. I got a whiskey sour. Yea, that sucked too. It was like I drank spiked water. Seriously. Oh well, other than the awful bartender we had a blast. There is just something about seeing grown men wearing platform shoes and face paint that makes everything better. :) The poor guy that was being Gene Simmons could barely walk in his platform shoes. Devin and I couldn't stop laughing! He would pick his legs up high as if he was a giant when he would walk. Too funny.

       This morning I decided I should get a mani/pedi to be the cherry on top of my stress relieving weekend so I did. I have never been to such a huge a spa! I felt like royalty being so comfortable and luxurious! I love walking out and feeling like I have slept for days. You just feel so relaxed. It's truly amazing. I get home and Devin has mowed the grass, done dishes,and packed up laundry to go to the laundromat. I couldn't believe it. Now he is making dinner on his bbq pit  while I write on my blog and watch shark week. Have I mentioned how great my husband is? Well he is pretty awesome!

      I'm glad I went and treated myself today. It had been awhile since I did that. I think next time Devin and I are going to have to get swedish massages.

       Remember, always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God. 

   

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Weekly Hubbs and Wifey Movie Date

                             First off, so sorry it's been almost a month since I last posted. I got a job doing telemarketing and it's pretty much draining me mentally and physically. Anyways, as many of you may know, Turbo and R.I.P.D came out at the movie theater this weekend. Devin and I huge movie goers so we pretty much go to the movies every weekend. It's just something we have been doing since we were dating. Well, they were both good movies with morals to the story of course. I don't know what it is, but I love love love movies with a moral ( Yes, this is pretty much every movie minus action and horror films). So for those of you who don't know what each movie was about I will tell you. I promise to SPOIL everything, so if you do not want to know what happens at the end, go watch the movie and then come back and read my blog. SORRY! If I don't spoil it, then I won't be able to get my point across! :)

 *****************************SPOILER ALERT**********************************

                  R.I.P.D, a movie about a man who is a police officer on Earth and gets shot on duty and goes to a place called R.I.P.D to wait out his sentencing as to whether he will go to hell or heaven. As he captures the dead people, he finds out that his best friend on Earth is the villain and is trying to build a tunnel so the dead people will forever be on Earth and can take over. Well, the man's wife finds out that he took some evidence when doing a case so his wife has a totally different feeling about him. He can't explain to her because he is already gone, but he took the evidence( gold) because he wanted to give them a better life. The man ( Ryan Reynolds) and his R.I.P.D partner take down the tunnel, but in the process his wife gets stabbed because she was the dead people's sacrifice. Well she is losing a lot of blood so for a brief moment she is able to go to the other side and she sees her husband. They share a special moment and he explains to her why he took the gold and then tells her that he must let her go and live her life instead of keeping her with him for his own selfish reasons. She ends up waking up in the hospital fine and he continues to watch over her.

********************************MORAL************************************

                 Don't take for granted what you have because you never know when that moment may be where you are no longer with the one you love. ( At least, that's what I took away from it)

*******************************SPOILER ALERT**********************************

                 Turbo, a movie about a snail that wants to go fast! Obviously, he won't ever be able to go fast, but something happens to him and he gets 'super powers' per se and can move at lightning speed! He gets entered into a race to not only live his dream, but to also help send business to the guy that entered him in the race because they have been struggling, along with many other business owners in that particular shopping center. He puts up a good fight throughout the enter Indy 500 until one of the star drivers hits up and his shell breaks releasing his super powers. Now he can only move at snail speed. A huge accident happens on the track and no one can make it to the finish line on the last lap. Turbo is so beat up that even he can't until he realizes he is closer to the finish line than anyone else and starts moving as fast as he can. He ends up winning the race and goes on to live with the guy ( taco shop owner) who entered him in the race.

***********************************MORAL************************************

                  No matter how many people think your dream is ridiculous if you put your mind to it you will be able to achieve it.



END OF SPOILERS



                          I don't know why but it just dawned on me that every children's movie always has a moral. To me, kids are able to take with them these morals and they are tucked away in their subconscious. I mean think about it. When you are babysitting multiple children, or maybe you have younger siblings, you can see how they play together. They will share or tell the other kids what is fair and what is not. Or even when a child says, "I want to be a ballerina", there is always some snotty kid that says, "You can't!", but that child will say back, " Yes I can if I believe in myself." I know its cheesy, but even adult movies such as R.I.P.D had a moral for adults. Even love stories make us skeptical sometimes and reality tv shows by showing us that being unfaithful in a relationship happens and what the re-percussions can be. Go watch Temptation, the new Tyler Perry movie. Trust me that has a huge moral!!! 

                         I just found it to be interesting how movies or tv have such an impact on us without us really knowing it. Just a little something to think about.....


     Remember to....always pray for eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst,mind that forgets that bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Laundromat Realization

                   On Sunday, Devin and I went to go do laundry. (The house has washer and dryer hook ups but we don't a washer and dryer to hook up). He warned about how the laundromat has some "characters", but I didn't really know what to expect. The only other laundromat I have ever been in was in Korea on post. It was super small and it was usually just us. Well, this laundromat was gigantic compared to that! There were quite a few people there for a Sunday morning too. There were few people there speaking languages I didn't even know existed and there were some who were showing how crazy their tempers can get. I tried not to direct my attention to them and just mind my own business, but it was a bit difficult. I brought my nook to read, but I kept getting distracted. Devin and I waited by the machines we were using so once they the timer went off we could transfer everything to the dryer. He played his Tiger Woods golf game app on his phone while I attempted to read. Fortunately, the book I am reading ( The Pact) is really good and easy to get into so at times I was distracted by the book.

                     A mother of three was a row behind us. She was a bit perturbed you might say. I know I am not a parent, but I don't think I will be yelling at my kids telling them to shut up, then speaking in Spanish, then threatening to take this that and the other away when they get home. I'm sure parenting can be very frustrating and I know it's hard work too. You have to be able to think about someone else and how it benefits them and not you. You cannot be selfish.

                    Then there was a middle aged man, probably early- mid 40's, who was talking loudly on his cell phone about how he has a job interview coming up but if it doesn't go well he is going to move to another state if his daughter can pay for him too.

                     Now comes a rather large man, at least 400 pounds without a doubt, who sat while his girlfriend put the loaded the washer. His girlfriend was wearing leggings with rips 5 inches long all the way down her legs that were purposely created by the clothing designer. He starts telling her about how a man should treat woman based on what his dad raised him to believe. He says, "If a woman needs nice things all the time and can't just appreciate being with her man, then something is wrong." His girlfriend just nodded and then somewhere they changed their conversation to how he didn't like her cousin and how he doesn't want her hanging with her cousin. She begins to get upset and tells him, " My cousin is blood and that's all that matters." 

                   Devin and I rapidly folded laundry, packed our clothes up and left. When we got in the car, I told Devin, " You weren't kidding. There were definitely some characters in there." He replied, "Yep it gets worse the later in the day." We drove off and went about our day running errands and what not. 

                   Yesterday, we went for a walk in the neighborhood and Devin brought up how blessed he was to have the parents he has. He said he never realized how blessed and grateful he was til he saw how other people are. He reminisced about how his parents parented and how they did a great job raising him and his siblings.  As we shared stories about our childhood, a red dodge truck comes zooming by. Two teenage boys were in the back screaming and being boys. The truck would speed up over the speed bumps so the boys would bounce around. The truck pulls into the drive way of one of the houses on the street and is purposely braking while the boys are standing up in the bed of the truck. Devin says, " I hope whoever is driving that truck is old enough to be able to pass for immature like the boys in the back. You know they are young and it can kind of be looked at that way but if the driver is older and knowing it's not safe to do that then what are they teaching the kids?"

                  Of course the driver ended up being a parent of one of the kids. I know you can have fun with your kids and their friends but you can do that and be safe at the same time. You can also be an example to your children also.

                   I know that I have been through many trials and tribulations in my lifetime. At times, I feel like no one else in the world can relate. But they can to an extent. What I need to remind myself is that there are other people who out there who are having an even harder time than I am at life and they are making things the best they can be for themselves. Sometimes we don't know how blessed we are until God puts a situation right in front of us.

                      Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Waffle House, UCF Road Trip, and Organizing the bedroom of Doom!

                        Guess who had a breakfast date with their hubby this glorious Saturday morning in Florida's humidity? This girl! Pecan waffles definitely were calling my name! Along with bacon and hashbrowns. Yes, my inner fat girl was screaming out! :) Anywho, waffle house was packed! As we drove up, we both went, "Hmm? Is there even anywhere to park?" Luckily for us, there was! After I attempted to find 'better' parking and then reversed back to the ONLY spot in the parking lot, we walked up to the front door and found a place to sit. After we gobbled down our waffles and side orders, we began our journey to find University of Central Florida ( otherwise known as UCF).

                        On Monday, there is going to be an information session at UCF Nursing School. I am nervous for many reasons, but the top 2 are :
                                     1. Driving in there by myself
                                     2. Going by myself

        Yes, I am a big 'ol baby! Something about having someone go with you gives you, or me at least, a feeling of easiness. I guess because I will at least know ONE person in the room. I know I need to put my big girl panties on and deal, but geeze can't someone go with? No, Devin can't go. He has school and attendance counts towards his grade, so ehhhhhh that's out the window. I will have to do drive out in the Florida craziness one of these days so why not Monday?!

                    The school was about 30 minutes away from the house, which isn't too bad.  We made it there in one piece thank God! I'm telling you, the people we have come across in Florida while on the road are outrageous horrible drivers! Korea was really really bad. I mean nothing like you have ever seen before. There are scooters, food delivery or not, who drive on the sidewalks or in between the lanes so they can go faster. People run red lights when others aren't coming so they can be on their merry way. When merging on the highway, no one lets anyone in without a fight. Not a real fight but the 'fight' involves a lot of brake checking and running up on the person in front of you. Oh yes! It's an amazing experience! You must put it on your bucket list! ( Sarcastic tone) Anyways, you get the jist; Korean drivers the worst ever! Well after a few people pulled out in front of us and a few people went 20 miles per hour under the speed limit, we arrived to UCF's Nursing School.

                    Devin, being the techonologically savvy man he is, programmed the destination to be saved in my GPS. No people I don't have a Garmin. It's something else from Scion and I can't work it to save my life. I mean come on you are talking to the girl who sold her Macbook because she had no clue how to work it other than open itunes and get music and get on the internet. All the other fancy schmancy stuff that the Apple laptops offer I had no idea how to operate. ( Which is why I now have a regular by my definition laptop). We began to head back home and of course Devin says, " Let's go check out Harley Davidson." Okay fine! I don't mind. Really I don't. At first, I use to because I would much rather me walking around the mall, but I know he likes to look around at the bikes and what not and then I get to look at the super cute, overly priced shirts they have!

                 He drove back home :) after we visited Harley Davidson of East Orlando and we went home to conquer the bedroom.... DUN DUN DUN! Yes, remember how I said in my last post how Devin has been living the bachelor life? Well the bedroom ( the only bedroom) he made into a storage/airbrush room. That's fine, but stuff was all over. Then I move in and my dad got me some storage stuff so now it was super cramped. After we took a few hour break, from driving to breakfast and visiting UCF, we got the ball rolling! Dev took the majority of the items out while I swept up around him. He began shuffling stuff here and there throughout the room stacking items here and there too. Now the room is a lot less cluttered. We still want to get another shelving unit but other than that it looks AWESOME!

                 Devin went outside to air up the tires in our vehicles and I stayed in and did some unpacking and organizing. He needed to take his truck out for a spin since he hadn't driven it in awhile due to using his motorcycle more. He comes and says, " Let's go take the truck around the block." I get ready and walk out the door. I'm thinking we are just going to around the block and go back home. Nope. We went down a few miles to this ice cream place called Twistee Treat. It's a small building shaped like an ice cream cone with picnic tables around it. There is always a line a mile long whenever we drive by so we have been wanting to try it. Today was the day! They had so much stuff! At first, I wanted a pretzel, but then I saw my absolute favorite... Mint Chocolate Chip. Of course I got a milk shake. Devin got a milk shake and a chili cheese dog. It looked so good, but I have this thing about hot dogs. When we were in Korea, we went to the movies on post, and I got a hot dog. Like an idiot I ate the hot dog that was clearly not even lukewarm and ate it after the guy heated it up in the  microwave. I mean shoot the hot dog is suppose to be hot from spinning around on the grill deal. But my stomach was wanting it so I ate it. Yep, the porcelain throne was my best friend that night. Devin told me that I have to get over my bad experience and eat a hot dog again. "It's an American tradition," he said. Yea, yea , yea tell my stomach that.

                    Well we came home and started up the tv. What did we watch you ask? A movie? No. A recorded show? Yes. Motorcycle racing. Devin loves it. He watched it while I did some dishes lol and then he went and mowed the grass( What he is doing right now). I have Mrs. Doubtfire on ( best movie by Robin Williams ) and am starting a California Pizza Kitchen Pizza in the oven. We gotta hit up the gym later since both of have added on the love persay. I have vowed to not buy any other pants any size bigger than what I have as motivation. I know you aren't suppose to do that to yourself, but I love shopping and if I can shop for clothes, pants to be exact, that aren't higher than a size 6 I will be ever so appreciative.

                                                                        On that note:

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.




From the Real Housewife of Chipola Circle's Desk :)                      

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Real Housewife of Chipola Circle

                   Yep, that's me. I started looking for jobs on Tuesday, but so far I haven't heard back from anyone. I've applied to work at Victoria's Secret, be a receptionist for a dental office, work at Costco or Sam's, work at the YMCA, and a  home health care company called Home Instead. I was really hoping I was going to be able to work for Visiting Angels here in Orlando,but they require you do some 40 hr training or have your CNA certification from Florida. To whereas in San Antonio, that was a requirement since it was a non medical group. I know I will find something. I have put my trust into God and I know he has a plan for me.

                Since my dad left to go back to San Antonio on Tuesday, I have been getting accustomed to things in Florida. Still unpacking clothes and what not trying to get the bedroom organized and what not. Devin was living the bachelor pad life since March so now the wife is here and she's turning it around a bit. LOL Sorry babe, Love ya!

                 Anyways, it's a nice little neighborhood that we are living in. There is a lake right across the street from us. (Too bad we don't have a boat that we could launch off of the public boat ramp.) It's a cute little one bedroom with a full bathroom, living room and kitchen. It is close to all kinds of shopping like a Walmart, two malls, an outlet mall, Sam's and Costco, and 30 minutes away from Disneyworld. When we lived in Washington, the house we chose, was 15-20 minutes away from a Walmart or nail salon or restaurant. It took 5 minutes just to get from our house in the neighborhood to the front gate. It was a beautiful place don't get me wrong, but it would be a place to retire not for a newly married couple.

                I am still a little scared to drive here. The drivers are nuts! People just don't pay attention to their surroundings! I told Devin I thought drivers in Korea were bad, but Florida ( at least Orlando) doesn't have anything on them!

                 Even though we don't have Major and Lulu here ( no pets allowed in the house) we are just glad to be back with each other! I told Devin he can't go anywhere ever again! :) He agreed, but then told me I can't leave him again! Hmmm I'm pretty sure I just followed lol Nonetheless, I am very blessed to have him in my life as my husband who is the same loving, super cheesy, can drive me crazy, makes me laugh, and reminds me everyday how lucky he is, motorcycle fanatic, spoils me daily person no matter how long we have been apart.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Hello Disneyworld!

            Yep! I am getting ready to move to Florida! I am slowly but surely getting everything together. I need to sit down, play some super girly rockout music and PACK! Two months ago, if you would have asked me what I would want to do more study or pack, I would have told you pack. Now that I don't have school going on, I would much rather watch my "trash" tv and eat popcorn.

            I really don't like packing especially to move. I am glad I only experienced it a few times in the military. Trust me, those 'few' times was plenty! I told Devin when we first moved back that the next time we move I am literally just taking clothes out of the closet (hanger and all), putting them in the car, and placing them into the closet at the new house. I am determined to not use moving boxes once we get back from Florida and move into a house. I will simply place everything as is ( minus wiring for electronics) into the car and installing once we set it in the house. Yes, it might (most likely will) take longer, but oh well it will be worth it in the long run.

             So, I am a tad bit nervous about moving. Lord, only knows why, but I am. When I told Devin I was nervous he laughed and said, "Why? You are moving to live with me." Yes, yes I know, but I think I'm just nervous about making a change. I got comfortable living back in San Antonio,knowing my surroundings, being in the same time zone as friends and family, and not having to twerk my brain when recording shows because,again, I was in the same time zone. (We have slingbox so we stream our tv through the internet so it's based off of San Antonio time since the slingbox is in San Antonio.)  I also do not want to part with the Monaco babies ( Major and Lulu). Devin's landlord in Florida does not allow pets so they have to stay with his parents. :(

            Sunday was my last day at work. It was definitely bittersweet. My clients were all very understanding about me moving to Florida to be with Devin. It is crazy how much of a relationship my clients and I had made in such a short amount of time. One person I had since my very first day while others I picked up along the way, as clients I had no longer needed home health care services due to their personal needs. My very last person this weekend starting crying when I left. It choked me up a little bit. I would work with this person on the weekends in the morning and after a month and half or so my client requested I be their caregiver all day on the weekends. ( I can't specify him or her due to privacy.) I really enjoyed working for Visiting Angels which is why I am going to try and work for them in Orlando. I had no idea there are Visiting Angels in every major city in the U.S. . One of my wonderful bosses wrote me a sparkling recommendation. I am uber excited! One day, one of my bosses told me,"I don't know what you are doing Luci, but you are doing something to these people in a good way. Everyone just loves you." To me, that was a complete confirmation as to why I have chosen to enter the medical field as a career.

            I have been truly blessed, not only my entire life, but these past few weeks. I took my TEAS exam and passed. My nursing application for UT Health Science at San Antonio was submitted perfectly without any problems. I submitted my application to UCF (University of Central Florida) and I got accepted. ( I had to apply to UCF before I can,possibly, apply to UCF's nursing school.) I finished my last week of work with no issues ( someone falling or becoming very ill). Now to tackle, choosing the clothes I cannot possibly live without while I am in Florida, along with the shoes that are impossible to part with, oh and purses of course! Luckily, I have God on my side during my ever so troublesome decision :)The rest of the week consists of relaxation in the form of hanging out by the pool, watching tv/jamming out to songs while packing, having dinner with the girls and trying to contain my excitement as much as possible!

                       Devin Taylor, here I come! Your 'bachelor pad' days are OVER!

Monday, May 20, 2013

I wish dreams could become realities

                                          While it's still vivid in my mind, I need to get it out.

       I dreamed that my mom was still alive. It started with Devin and I asleep. Devin got a phone call and handed it to me and said," It's your mom." I quickly took the phone away and said, "Mom?!?!" She said, " Hi honey. I'm doing really good. I don't have any of the tumor and they say my cancer is gone. I can come home now."For some reason, I could see her in the nursing home in her room there talking on the phone. I jumped up and down and replied with an ecstatic voice,"Yay! I can't wait to see you!" Immediately, I thought ' I'm going Florida. Maybe I should stay here now to be with her.' I got up and walked out of the bedroom and she was instantly there! She was sitting in the living room in a chair smiling. I don't know whose living room it was but it made it seem like it was at mine and Devin's house. I told her, " Here come with me. You can sit in my room while I get ready." I walked in front of her and started going through my closet. She was walking slowly with a walker. She came into my room and sat down on the bed. The bed was pretty high so I told her," You don't have to sit there. You can sit in this chair." I began to move clothes that needed to be hung out of the way. She got up off the bed, walked over to the chair, and sat down with a big smile on her face. I smiled back, leaned over her and gave her a big hug and kissed her forehead.

          And that was it. I woke up feeling like I really saw her and that I should get up and walk into the living room because she is HERE! But I quickly remembered, that had to be a dream because she was not physically here. She is here in spirit and with our Lord and Savior, but not here on earth. Tears began to roll down my cheeks. I don't know if it was happy tears because I saw her or disappointed tears because I can't feel her hugs anymore. Either way there were tears.

     What is really really strange to me is that I have dreamed of this 'bedroom' , that I claim to be mine, more than once. It's a huge bedroom. I mean gigantic! There is so much room that I have a bookshelf near the door separating some of the room up. I have a hug vanity up against one wall and a very high huge bed up against another wall. My closet is clear across the room and it's a decent sized one, but it's also just for me. Devin has his own. Then across from there is the bathroom inside the room. The door is always closed to it when I have my dreams. There is hardwood floors and a rug in the middle of the room. I don't know where this bedroom comes from.

     When I was younger, my best friend's dad was in the Army. They lived on Fort Sam Houston in a huge two story house. All of the rooms were huge but the kitchen. It was super tiny! Anyways, I always loved her bedroom the most! It seemed so huge! She had hardwood floors and a rug in the middle and a book shelf near the entrance,but it was up against the wall with porcelain dolls on it. She also didn't have a bathroom within the bedroom like a master bedroom would. So I guess some elements of that room along with elements from our Korean apartment's master bedroom are smushed together to created this huge bedroom I dream of in practically all of my dreams.

      It was really like she came to Devin and I's house. She was super excited to see it and be there and really just to be with us.

                                 This is the type of dream I wish could become a reality.


     We all dream of having a career and family and having a great life for ourselves. Those dreams can become realities because with hardwork and dedication it can happen. But when you lay your head on the pillow and pretty much float away you can have a dream about anything.

    When my grandpa died, it was very close to Thanksgiving day. He was in the hospital for a few days and then the doctors said he needed to stay one more night and then he could go home. The next day he had passed away. Everyone was shocked. He was suppose to come home for heaven's sake! Well he did. He went home to be with the Lord.

       My great uncle had just passed away not too long before my grandpa did. After my grandpa passed, my great aunt said she saw my grandpa and her husband ( my great uncle) sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. She said she walked up to them and Henry, my great uncle, said " We are fine. We are just drinking our coffee. Everything will be ok." She was so freaked out she called all the family members and told them about it. My grandpa passed away when I was in 4th grade and to this day we still talk about when Aunt Tom ( short for Tomeiko) said she saw Uncle Henry and Grandpa.

     These past few weeks I have been extremely overwhelmed! In a two week time period I needed to study for 6 tests because the week before finals I had last second tests so teachers could have more grades and then the week after was finals. I had to work while doing so and now that the semester is over I have to concentrate on taking the TEAS placement test for nursing school, get my application in for nursing school, make sure my transcripts are sent correctly, pack for Florida, put my two weeks in at work and GO!

        I truly believe that my mom visited me last night because she too knew I was overwhelmed. It just proves that she was watching over me and knew I needed a pick me up. You can believe what you like and interpret this how you like, but this is what I truly truly whole heartedly believe.

       One last thing. I texted Janna right when I woke up and told her about the dream. She had a dream a while back about mom hugging her. She told me she remembered praying about how much she would like to hug mom again. Then it happened. Totally crazy. I just take this as proof that my mom is where she belongs. As an angel with God and Jesus watching over us daily.

      Today, I have a lot going on. To have my mom so vividly in my dream last night, is just what I needed.

           This dream shouldn't just be proof to me but to you too. I hope you can see that home doesn't necessarily mean your house off of 1604. Home can also mean with God and Jesus Christ. I hope you can also take in that when you may not realize how much you need a little pick me up, whether it be from someone who is physically here or not, you will receive that little boost for your day. I have received mine and now I feel and know that I am stronger and I am capable of getting everything done I need to get done.

                                        Thank you Mom. I love you very much!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

I'll wear my Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it!

                                                                HAPPY EASTER!!!

           I know what you are probably thinking, "why are you up so late?". Well, I had work late tonight and I have been meaning to write again. After the night I had, I definitely have a new appreciation for life. Anyways, before I get to that I'd like to ramble a bit. If you don't want to read the 'ramble' go ahead and scroll down to the paragraph that starts with 'tonight'.

           Here's an update on Devin: He found a place that was within his price range in Orlando. He moved in March 25th and is finally settled in now that he has the futon he has been wanting. It's a one bedroom, one bath with a living room and kitchen. There isn't a driveway per say and there isn't a garage, but it's all he really needs. It's on a good side of town close to restaurants and grocery stores and such. It's also super close to his school, so he will only have to drive 15 min. SUPER CLOSE!

          He starts school Monday. He got his uniform shirts at orientation on Wednesday. He is super excited. I am really proud of him. He is doing what he has dreamed of doing. He is very motivated and determined to become a well renowned motorcycle builder/technician! :)
 

             Update on my school: Chem 2 is kicking my ass! This past test I felt so ready, but apparently I need to know more about Ch.15 than I thought I did so I struggled with those questions. In the end, he graded with a curve so my grade went from a 73 to an 84! Yes, I did a happy dance when I saw it! My math classes aren't too bad. My algebra teacher is horrible. We finally had our test monday after many cancellations.My stats teacher is awesome! We have a test thursday.

             Update on the fam: Janna has decided to become an english teacher and then do counseling. Dad and Karen are good. Karen had her thyroid removed but everything was ok. Her biopsy came back negative! Dad's back has been hurting him, but other than that he has been good. He learned how to make a bunny out of origami so he has been busy :)

              Devin's family is doing well. They are the same loving, caring, generous people as they have always been. I am so blessed to have such great in laws. Sorry I just had to brag about that.

             I'm missing Dev a lot so it's nice to be able to hang out with family every now and then. It's not the same, but it helps. Major misses Dev a lot too. He has started to adapt, but you can tell he is still expecting Devin to walk in the door any minute.

               This upcoming week isn't going to be too eventful. Monday is class as always tuesday is the same way. One of my best friends, whom I met in Korea, is coming to visit me on Wednesday. SOOO EXCITED!!! Thursday is my stats test and then friday and the weekend is work work work.

            So I bought this Jergens lotion called Jergens natural glow because I need a tan bad. I don't want to go lay out and I don't want to spend the money on getting a spray tan, so Janna used this before and said it really worked. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I just started putting it on friday night and this morning I could already tell the difference. No lie go get some!

                                            Now onto my eventful evening........

            Tonight, I started with a new client. I was pretty much terrified that I wasn't going to be able to handle it. I kept telling myself, "just think who else is going to do this? this person needs help with everyday things. you can do this." So I would do what she would ask within reason of course if my job allowed it as well.  Once my shift was over, I drove home thinking about how I need to take care of myself better so I don't end up in sticky situations sooner that I'd like in my life. Yes, old age just happens and with old age we begin to fall apart, but if my body can fall apart late in my life such as my 80's or so then I'd say I did pretty darn good. I know that nursing is a rewarding field. Seeing people die, bring life to the world, recover from injuries and so forth, but being a caregiver is also very rewarding. I am getting to help people remain in the comfort of their own homes. It's truly amazing how with some staying at home really encourages them in a way to move around more. Pretty much what I am getting at is I have realized how precious life is. I realized that when my mom passed away. I didn't regret anything with her. I said what I wanted to say to her and spent the time that I could with her as well. It's still hard knowing she is truly gone, but thank God for family and the support they give.
              Anyways, when you go to church today or run errands perhaps throughout the week or go out for a bite to eat, look around your surroundings and for a second put yourself in someone else's shoes. Whether you truly know the person or not just try it. Trust me I think you will feel an appreciation for the life you have. I understand that life gets hard and when we are already down it feels like we are getting stomped on even harder, but remember in the back of your mind that things could always be worse and that someone else is most likely in a worse position than you. So go out tomorrow or later in the week and don't be inpatient when you are waiting in a long check out line because someone has a lot of coupons or they are needing to take their time putting their wallet away or getting their items. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you like to feel rushed? Would you like to hear comments being made that are directed towards you? Don't be inpatient when trying to find a parking spot. Remember some people who really need the handicap stop may not be able to park there because they are all taken and now they have to walk from the back of the parking lot to the entrance with their walker or get pushed in a wheelchair.

              Those are just a few situations that I'd like to give you as examples, but seriously. Go out and try to see things from another's perspective. I promise you will feel like a different person at the end of the day.

           Again, Happy Easter and praise the lord for rising and forgiving us of our sins!
    
                                                             GOD IS GOOD!


P.S. The title of today's blog is a song my mom use to sing to Janna and I on Easter while she was cooking in the kitchen or getting ready for church. I heard the song tonight so I thought I'd share it :)
         
           

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Spring Break+Devin's Last Week

                    So I started my Spring Break off to a good start...sinus infection. Yep, I woke up Friday morning feeling like I got hit by a truck. I called into work and got the weekend off due to being contagious. Thank God for mucinex and this prescription nose spray! They were miracle workers! I went back to work Tuesday and now I'm doing some laundry and catching up on TV shows while Devin goes on one last bike ride with his uncle and dad.
                    He leaves Saturday for Florida. It's bittersweet. I know going to MMI and becoming a motorcycle technician will be the best thing. He loves to work on motorcycles so I'm sure he will do great! He eventually wants to open up his own shop once he has some experience under his belt. Florida is so far away and he is going to be gone for 16 months. Fortunately, I can visit in the summer and in the fall. He will only have school in the morning during the week so he will have weekends off. The plus to him being out of the Army and in the real world is he doesn't have to wait to get approved to go on vacation. I know when he gets a job he will have to request off and what not, but it won't be such a hassle like it was in the Army.
                     I'm not gunna lie at times we do miss the consistent paycheck, but the emotional toll and stress we faced daily was just too much. I couldn't stand having a plan made and set and ready to go and then all of a sudden we had to cancel or rearrange things. Whenever we wanted to go on vacation, he got docked days and we had to wait for approval and sometimes it wouldn't get approved because of someone else might have requested the same days. It was just an overall P.I.A! ( Pain in the ass)
                  Now he is going to go to MMI and get certified to be a motorcycle technician so he can work at Harley. Since there are so many harley dealers in San Antonio, his family and mine will be within reach. On the weekends, we can hang out with each other or friends or family. It's really nice to know that after all this time we will finally be in one place with all of our family close by. I know it was only 3 years that he was in the Army, but with as much crap we had to deal with it, honestly. it felt like we were in the Army for 20 years!

                    Anyways, moving on from that.... we had dinner with devin's best friend George and his wife Courtney the other day. They just had a little girl last year and she is adorable! Everytime we go over there I can't help but to pick her up and squeeze her! Devin hadn't held her yet, which was kinda shocking to me. Courtney's mom passed her over and then later Devin picked her up on his own. I told him he has 4 years to still be "selfish" :) His mom thinks it'll be less. Hahaha

                     Let's see what else did we do. Well Monday we had a husband and wife day since I didn't have work or school. We went to Bass Pro Shop, a Pet Store, went over to his parent's house for a little bit and went to the shooting range. Tuesday, Dev went to the driving range with his dad and I went to work :/ then yesterday I had work and Dev helped my dad and Karen around the back yard. Then, we stayed the night at his parent's house to have dinner, watch a movie, and hang out with his mom,dad, sister, brother-in-law, and our niece and nephew.

                          Overall, I'd say we have had a pretty good week. He is out on his motorcycle ride with his uncle and dad like I said earlier in this post. I have work this afternoon and then Dev is going to pack later. Tomorrow we plan on having lunch or dinner with my dad and karen and then going to see a movie. I have work too.

         Well I guess I'll continue with laundry... :)

Monday, February 11, 2013

Gettin' into a Groove


         
                  Well it has been some time since I last wrote. I tried to take advantage of my free time while I had it before I started work and school. I started school Jan.22 and work Jan.18. I have been going and going ever since! Now that I have such a full load I am trying to find the time to spend with Devin before he heads off to Florida for 16 months. I know I will go and visit at some point but since I don't know when just yet it seems like an eternity.

     So yes, Dad got re-married. Karen and him knew each other in high school and dated in high school too. Dad had been re-connecting with people he knew high school since he was planning his 50th high school reunion. Last year, after mom passed away, they reconnected with each other and the rest is history.

                  Dad is enjoying retirement and not having a schedule. :) Janna is still attending Texas A&M and loving it. Devin is working with his Dad on some rent houses they have. I am going to school Monday-Friday and working. My work schedule isn't full like it was when I first started,but I feel like I never have enough time.

    I'm taking College Algebra, Statistics,and Chemistry 2. Out of all the classes Chemistry 2 is the hardest. I only have the class once a week, but it's on a Monday night for 3 hours. When it hits 8pm, my brain has checked out. I should actually be reading one of the chapters we are going over right now and making flash cards, but hey I'm pretty good at procrastination! Anyways, College Algebra is a little tough only because my teacher is a little nutty. He gets very distracted and I don't think he realizes he isn't finishing his sentences and leaves you hanging. My stats class is good. The teacher is awesome. Nuff said :)

     My dad and Karen have been cleaning out the garage. They came across some yearbooks of Mom's and other school stuff. It's really nice to be able to reminisce. I told Devin on Valentine's Day I'd like to go by her grave and put some flowers there. I haven't been to her grave since her ashes were buried. Katie went by when it marked a year that she passed and took a picture for me. She brought flowers and so did Janna and my dad. I know she is gone, but still with me in spirit but I really don't think it's fully and completely set in.

   So I was use to sleeping til 8am 8:30am and doing online classes and then going to work in the evening. Well even though I only did that routine for 6 months it really changed my body clock. I've always wanted to sleep as long as possible, but now it's all I think about lol. Not all I think about but I enjoy my sleep! I need to take a nap before my night class or I might fall asleep in class! Once I can get more settled I think it'll be good.

I has dinner on saturday with my two besties Sarah and Katie. We had fun chit chatting and getting together. It's always good to know you count on someone.

Well I am drained. I need to hit the sack temporarily and then get to some homework.

I just want to say thank you to those who read my blog. I hope I can help you feel like you are not alone if you have lost someone and are coping or I can make you laugh at my cheesy and sometimes sarcastic humor. I hope that I can also help you realize you aren't the only one who is juggling a busy life while trying to get to the dream career.

Remember: Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people,a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.