Gracias!

This thanksgiving my time will be spent baking a ham, making home made fruit juices, cleaning my house and of course working on my  good old finals for school. I hope I can manage to do all of this but I know I wont have time to write a post on what I'm grateful for.
I have so many things to be thankful for, somehow  in the past 3 years this holiday always makes me reminisce on the day Enoch and I went on our first date. I had plenty to be thankful for in 2007, a new friend, a new potential boyfriend!Haha..Little did I know that this first date would be one of many to come. For this reason, I can start off by talking about me being grateful for my wonderful, fantastic husband of mine. Here is a list of just a couple of things/people I am grateful for:
1. God and his gospel
2. My Enoch
3. My mother
4. Being able to go to school for my masters at USC
5. My job/internship
6. Friends
7. Family
8. My bed(I never see you but when I do, its great:)
9. Being able to travel next month and visit my country Guatemala
10. Peace, love and charity(both receiving and giving)
11. my surprise
12. A good laugh
13. Sour foods
14. The beach
15. Life experiences- both the good and the bad

Happy thanksgiving!

FHE FUN

About the time Sonia and I got married, there was love in the air everywhere. My sister got married just before us and a stream of marriages happened in the local singles ward. A few months back we decided to have a monthly family night with the other newly weds.

This last one was great. The hosts of course, being Brazilian, had ahuge meal with Brazilian beans, chicken pie, and well rice krispy treats.

Anyway, after the meal we always have a lesson. Yesterday's lesson was very simple, yet profound. We were talking about being prepared for emergencies. Having a plan, having food, water, and fuel. The simple topic opened my eyes as to how much more Sonia and I need to do so that we are prepared.

After the lesson we played games and really got into it. TICKET TO RIDE is a great game that I highly recommend.

To keep things simple, Sonia and I really enjoyed ourselves and look forward to next months.

Just a small update

The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense. -Thomas A. Edison 
Lately, it feels like Enoch and I have been in school forever!  The transition of going back to school for me has been a challenge. I think it has to do with the fact that I'm working 30 hours and doing 16 hours of internship on top of a full load of classes. Yes! It's a lot. Why did I do this to myself? Ha..ha..
At the same time, it has been quite the learning experience. I've learned so much about human beings/behavior, and myself that it makes it all worth it. Midterms just ended and they consisted of me writing about 30 pages total in a time frame of 2 weeks.
But I still manage to squeeze some fun every once in a while. I've had such a good time riding my beach cruiser at school. Enoch even bought me a basket where I can place my books. Riding the bycicle from institute to school is one my favorite parts of my crazy, hectic day. But my favorite part has to be the part when I get to see Enoch at night. Its interesting the things we take for granted. I've been learning to love the simple, little things. My sense of gratitude has also been reinforced when I give therapy in my internship. I talk to clients who don't have the gospel. Having the gospel and  God has been my anchor in these busy, challenging/fun times. Enoch and I will be having some halloween fun tonight. I hope I'll remember to take our camera because lately, we've been using our phones to take pictures like the one below.

USC vs. UCLA girls soccer game

Guatemala "Land of Eternal Spring"

Today is my countries independence day. All these years I've really missed out on visiting, I miss my family and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to finally go. I am very excited since its been 20 years since I haven't been back. Its a part of my identity and its been hard and sad to not  know nor remember  my own country! So in honor of that I want to share a few interesting facts you might not know about Guatemala.

*The name Guatemala means ‘Land of the Trees’ in the Maya-Toltec language.


*Twenty-one distinct Mayan languages as well as several non-Mayan Amerindian languages are spoken here, especially in the rural areas.

*There are three UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely, Antigua Guatemala, Archeoligical Park and Ruins of Quirigua and Tikal National Park.
*The country is recorded to have 100 rivers, 61 lagoons, 5 lakes and 3 swamps.


*The country has a distinct fauna of its own and has about 1246 known species inhabiting it.


*Agriculture contributes as one-fourth of the country’s GDP. Coffee, bananas and sugar are the main products of the land.


*Guatemala is a storehouse of a number of libraries and museums. Some of the important names in this list are the National Library, the National Archives, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology.

Summer time update

I know summer's pretty much over but I thought I could update on what we did this summer. First of all, the reason why we couldn't update our blog during the  summer is because we've been extremely busy. So what have we've been doing? Well, lets see...preparing for school, working long hours and getting settled in our home. Preparing for school entailed going to school orientations, scheduling, and saving money for the expenses. We've also worked, Enoch at one time had 3 jobs and I did a lot of over time. And for settling down at our home? This is where some of the fun stuff comes in. I've been decorating our home to make it cozy and a refuge to us after our busy and exhausting days. Decorating my home has made me super happy. Many don't know but one of my other "dream" careers is to be an interior designer.
We said" good-bye" to our summer by celebrating my birthday. It was so nice to spend time with my family members and close friends. I wanted to have a birthday party since I know I wont get to see them as often as I'd like. I've been having to manage working a full time job, an internship and a full load of classes. Its been so stressful but now and then I try to squeeze in some fun with Enoch. And by the way he has been sooo helpful to me. He makes dinner for me and is so understanding. I feel so blessed to have such a hard working hubby! And last but not least, the best part of all...this summer Enoch and I bought our airplane tickets to Guatemala!!Yes!!We will be spending our holidays at my motherland. I am so stoked and can't wait! Meanwhile, we will both continue to be stressed out as students:)
Below are pictures  of my b-day party and home.

Mom, friend and Aunt

Cousins, and sister

Family and friends

Acting silly with friends

We're moving along

May was such a busy month. Everything from starting a new job to planning parties, and being in a wedding. Overall, I can say I had a lot of fun but at the end of the day I was exhausted! So now for some updates..
I started a new job at the end of May, I work for the Children's Institue, Inc in its Los Angeles metro office(it has offices all over the South Bay area). I will be working as a Child and Family Specialist, I'm excited and grateful for this opportunity.
Next, Enoch and I will be moving.  Not too far....actually we're staying in the area because of the schools we're attending. Enoch will be going to Cal State Fullerton and I will be going to USC. So Torrance is in the middle for both of us to commute. We're both excited for school but also happy for the summer:)
Lastly, my best friends wedding. It was wonderful! The sealing was beautiful but its too bad I forgot to take my camera. However, here are some pictures of the bridal shower and bachelorette party.

Feliz dia de las madres

In the U.S., mother's day was yesterday May 9th. In many Latin American countries, including my country Guatemala, that day is today. So I want to take this time to write how much I admire, appreciate and love my mother. No one knows my mother like I do. Being the oldest, I have been a witness of how strong and resilient she has been throughout her life. My mother has not had the typical life some mothers had. From her childhood to the present, she has overcome so many trials. I don’t know how she’s still manages to be sane and "normal." I admire my mom for her strength in dealing with life's difficulties and oh...did I mention she drives 18 wheelers for a living? Yes! She’s super strong. I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. And yet she is so sweet, responsible, and a great cook. She can cook anything from wontons to a delicious seafood soup. She has taught me to study hard in school and never give up. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from her is to always work hard regardless of your circumstances.

I'm grateful to God for my mother, I can honestly say that I am the person I am today because of the morals, values and lessons I have learned from her. I love her dearly.

One year anniversary

I know this is a couple weeks overdue but I've been so busy planning my friends bridal shower, designing my bridesmaid dress, applying for a new job, scholarships,etc, etc.. But here it is:
For our one year anniversary(April 11) Enoch and I decided to get away for the weekend. We had our weekend booked with wholesome activites. We left for San Diego on Friday, where we stopped by the flower fields at Carlsbad. Being a flower lover, this was such a neat experience to be surrounded by flowers all around. Next, we headed to visit Enoch's brother and spent some time with his kids in San Diego. Enoch took me to dinner and drove not far to the Marriott hotel to take dance lessons and dance the night away. I love dancing with Enoch, I love when he spins me and guides me through the dance floor.
On Saturday, we went to the San Diego temple and did sealings! Oh what a wonderful idea it was. I was so happy to be back at the place we got sealed. It so special to be there and reminisce on the day when we were sealed for time and all eternity! We later went bike riding on the beach and harbor of San Diego. We drove to San Clemente where we hiked and walked around Dana Point. Our anniversary was so much fun and memorable.

I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend. He fills my life with pure joy and genuine love and kindness. He makes me want to be a better person. He has so much patience with me and my silly ways. Enoch cooks dinner for me, takes care of me when I am sick and cleans our home when he has the time. He always tries to make me happy. I remember thinking to myself when I met him "I finally found my smile." Why would I say that? Because up to that point in my life, there was really no other person who could make me smile like he does. I am so grateful for having him in my life.

Go trojans!

                                      

I have finally made my decision! I will be attending USC and getting my Masters in Social work this fall. I'm very excited and grateful for this opportunity I've been given to attend grad school. Frankly, I didn’t think I would get attend USC but I really had strong promptings to apply. As I was waiting to hear back from them I thought of how crazy I was to apply there since that school was not in my plans. However, I really feel the Lord prepares you for the good and the bad. As the days went by I would ponder if I would go there if I got accepted. I had good feelings about it and prayed for the answer. Enoch was so supportive, encouraging me from the beginning. My family was so happy for me. The first person I called was my mom. She has always believed in me and wanted me to get far in life. She instilled responsibility and discipline in me which has allowed me to work hard in school. I don’t consider myself to be smart, just a hard worker. We haven’t heard back from CSULB for Enoch but I have a good feeling about that too. I’m excited to start in August and participate in this great program. I know we will need to sacrifice much but I know it will be worth it in the long run. I plan to enjoy every step of the way at USC.

Hello Mexico!

Last Monday we headed to Tijuana, Mexico. To many, this would not be a big deal. But for me, it was! I had not traveled outside of the U.S. since I arrived to this country 20 years ago! That's a long time if you ask me. So Enoch, Athena and I went on a Monday morning and drove to Mexico. We stopped by one of the beaches first, where we had  a nice lunch in a restaurant with an ocean view.

We ate seafood of course, and to top it off we drank coco juice. Yum!!

Later we headed to the city where we shopped around and got on some rides. We had a blast getting on ride in the restaurant where we had dinner. If I could sum up how it went, I would say it went great! I didn't expect to have such a good time. It was just so much fun to go away.

The End of Poverty?

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."-Martin Luther King, Jr.
This last Saturday Enoch, his sister Athena and I went to see a movie in Santa Monica that touched us like no other movies we've seen. To me, this movie had new information but, it didn't surprise me. I come from a very humble country and so this movie was only a visual representation of what people who are living in my country go through each and every day. I won't spoil the movie, but I do highly recommend everyone to see it since it brings to light many issues that affect people in this world. A reason why I love Enoch is because he is not selfish and always thinks of others before himself. He gives service without thinking twice. I thought this movie encourages us to not be selfish , it makes us realize how blessed we are and our responsability as human beings to help one another. It helped us to put in perspective whats really important in life.

Happy New Year!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book iS called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." 

 -Edith Lovejoy Pierce

I don't know about you, but I love the new year. I love to have a fresh start at things. The year 2009 brought much happiness but sadly much sorrow as well. So despite those bad experiences Enoch and I are looking forward to this year filled with many opportunites. One of those opportunities is to serve. Enoch and I both love to help those in need. So its no surprise that my job in Santa Monica and my calling in the church entails helping and serving. For this coming year we have many goals and hope to accomplish them.

For new years eve, we spend some time with our families who live in the same area and our friends! I love friends. They lift you up and offer some of the most genuine concern and love. I was thrilled to welcome the new year dancing the night away. 2010 came faster than we expected but, boy were we waiting for it! Every year brings hope and faith that things will get better and it is a reminder of how short life is. So one of our new years resolution is to enjoy the journey and while the destination is important, the journey is just as important. I look forward to the trips and memories we will build as husband and wife this year. Specially because it will be our first anniversary this year. I'm still hoping to get a camera soon so we can post some better pictures of our trips and such.

We know this year will be a good one and we wish you all the best as well!