It's the little things......

....like this, that completely make my days.... 

"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the gratefully and appreciating heart."  Henry Clay
Isn't that the truth??  ;)

Today I walked into this....  I'm usually off on Thursdays, but I worked today, and boy was I glad I did....  :)  As I clocked in, I noticed this piece of paper with my name written on top, in BIG and I mean BIG letters.....  first thought that came to my mind what Oh HELL...  what happened?  I mean it's all highlighted and stuff...  haha!  as I went to read it I started to get teary eyed...  How could I not?  It's a very nice comment on a comment card left by a customer about me at work...  and my store director thought he would post it to show a "little" appreciation" for me!!  ;)  I got kuddos all day, and LOVED it!!  haha!!  I really didn't do anything out of the ordinary though....  who knew???  ;)  It's things like these that remind me that we should always "give and do our best, without expectation..." and maybe someday some of that will come back to us....  and for me, that day was today!!  and let me tell you that I haven't been able to wipe the grin off my face all day!!  ;)

Ummmmm..... and Duuuuhhhhh!!

hahaha!!!  I couldn't think of a better way to start this blog!  ;)
So something funny happened to me the other day!  I've been thinking long and hard about it too...  haha!  Mainly because I was so absolutely taken by surprise that I really had no idea how to respond....  so here it goes....  It was a conversation between me and a cute boy I work with, so i will do it in conversation form..  ;)  I walked up to said cute boy, There had been flirting going on for a while, ummmm...  I kinda liked it, I'm not gonna lie.....  ;D

• cute boy:  I'm a simple person, I LOVE kids, I LOVE the beach, I like all kinds of music and even some country, I don't need much to make me happy, I like to cook, I would be happiest living in a big house in the country, or on the outskirts of town, I like scary movies and walks in the park....  he's shooting all this information at me while looking me straight in the eye, then he says, WHAT DO YOU LIKE??
• me:  what is this?  a job interview? ;)
• him:  maybe??
• me:  mmmm, I like food, and kids and taking pictures and the beach....  ugghhh, I'm also a very simple person and I HATE to shop, and I think that's it??   all while shifting uncomfortably in my shoes???  REALLY that's all I could come up with?  haha!! 
• him:  THAT'S IT?
• me:  I'm gonna need a little more time to think about it!!  haha, what a jerk right??  right??

so I have been thinking about it, and I have come up with an "about me" list, I thought it might be good to have one next time this comes up!  ;)

• I LOVE pictures, I think they tell a story, our story!
• I am very loyal to my family and friends
• Reading is one of my favorite past times!
• I read magazines from the back to the front...  I'm not sure why?  Seems I always have though
• I LOVE scary movies
• I really like to cook, and bake
• someone once told me that my job on earth was to "serve" people, and the more I think about it, the more I agree....  :)  we all have a purpose to serve right?
• I make a good secretary to others, if only I could figure out a way to be a good secretary to myself!  haha!
• I was in a car accident when i was 8 and it changed my life, and the way I live it, and my rules about seatbelts
• I am probably the least jealous person anyone will ever meet....  I can probably count on my one hand how many times I have ever been jealous, and I think they all happened when I was 12...  ;)
• I am also a very simple person, all I really need are my family and friends to keep me happy...  Material things are just that, material, don't get me wrong, I LOVE a nice purse, and nice jeans, and a AWESOME camera like the next person, but they definitly don't define who I am
• I am all about quality time
• Sunsets at the beach and fireworks are two of my absolute favorite things...
• I've been in love before, I'm pretty sure I gave my heart away once, and it hurt in a good way....  but I'm not sure I've completely gotten it back yet....
• One of my biggest fears is lossing a friend to something stupid, it's happened once before, and I'll be dammned if I let it happen again
• I hate confrontation
• I'm good at removing myself from situations I don't like!
• I believe honesty is always the best policy!
• I don't lie, and I can't figure out why other people find it necessary?
• I'm also the least competitive person I know....  competition stresses me out....  :)
• I do make a good cheerleader/supporter though!
• Baseball season is my favorite SEASON!! 
• I LOVE food, any kind of food, and I LOVE trying new food....  :)
• I LOVE to be spontabeous
• I love dogs, big fluffly one's, and if I could have one I would!
• quality time with kids is another one of my favorites...  I have to thank my BFF's for allowing me to do this!  :)

So there you have it "cute flirting" boy...  just a few fun facts about me....  ;)  Maybe next time I wont be caught off guard!  ;)

A little something.... that's near to my heart!

The American Cancer Society puts a few of these local "relay for life" events a year....  I did one a few years ago with my sister and one of her childhood friends....  We had a GREAT time, and it was very close to all of our hearts, Cassie's mom is currently in remision from cancer, and my sister and I have had our share of family/friends who have suffered from the disease...  you can read more about that here I wrote about it after the last event.  :)

A friend I worked with a while ago, decided to put a team together this year, she also battled cancer when she was in her 30's....  The last time I did this I had a great time, and it was definitly a very fiulfilling experience for me, so why not do it again?  ;) 

So I signed up, and set up my own personal relay page....  Now all that's left is to fundraise a little...  come and help us out if  you'd like...  Anything helps...  Even $5.00....  :)  and it's for a GREAT cause....  :D  Here's the link if you're interested!  :D

Gooooo Angels, Goooo!!!

Ahhhhh....  Baseball season's here again!!  ;)  Here's to the first game of the season!  We had a great time with new "baseball" friends, enjoyed lots of baseball game "goodies"  you know hot dogs, beer, soda, peanuts, pizza, cotton candy, good seats, THE GAME!  haha!  yes some of us went for the game, others of us went for the socializing aspect, and ALL of us went for the food!!  ;)  To Isaac's disappointment the Angels WON, I had no doubts!  ;)  I can't wait for the next one!  :) 
Our awesome view!

haha!  LOVE the action shots!  ;)

Go Angels!

our baseball watching group!  :)

of course we had to have malts, well Isaac had to have a malt, I had a ruby's cookies n' cream shake ice cream thing, and let me tell you it was AAAAHHHHMMMAZING!!!  :)

I think I have finally.....

......reached a new level of exhaustion, this week.... 

My aunt, uncle and niece have been here for a week and a half....  and it has been a Busy, Busy one at that.... 

• we had family dinners
•  had some shopping days
•  we visited D-land 3 days in a row...
• I worked in between
• somewhere in there, there was a concert with my mom
• and didn't go to bed anywhere before midnight any night
• while still waking up at the crack of dawn
• we took LOTS and LOTS of pictures
• I drank lots and lots of coffee  ;)
• and watched Disney movies in spanish
• and Wow Wow in spanish too....  who knew...  haha!
• we colored, and did puzzles
• ate a lot of food
• ....and just plain enjoyed our family time
• and I LOVED every minute of it...  I am exhausted though... 
• I thouroughly meeting my "real" niece for the first time, and I think she enjoyed her California family too!  :)  She's on her way to the airport right now, and I can honestly say that I miss her already!  I miss her accent and her "matter of fact" way! 
• My neck and shoulders are screaming  MASSAGE
• My feet want to summon HAPPY BUDDHA and a PEDI
• and the rest of my body is calling for SLEEP...
• but instead I will spend all day tomorrow buried in Chief's paperwork, and then I will join my college friends at Angel's stadium, for the first game of the season....  :) 

so this week I definitly feel THANKFUL, Thankful that I was given the gift of spending quality time with little Nina....  :)  and my aunt and uncle too!!  :)
here's to the beginning of a new week, and all of the "gifts" it will bring with it!!  :)

Quality time with Mom!

My mom absolutely LOVES Julio Iglesias....  and all I can remember was listening to his music ALWAYS, when I was growing up!  :)  Once upon a time I used to know all of his songs by heart!  ;)  Gaby and I decided to take my mom to his concert as an early mother's day present...  Julio, would be playing at Pechanga so how could we pass that up??  ;)  That man still puts on a great concert...  and my mom had a GREAT time which is always important!  ;)  Gaby was SUPER excited too...  we found out Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson's brother and his family, were in the audience, I swear I thought Gaby was going to "bolt" from her seat!  ;)

Waiting for the concert to start!

The show...

They weren't selling souveniers, after the concert...  AND he left right away, so we decided a picture with the Julio poster would do!  ;)

Here's to a fun  night with the girls!  :)

The concert ended up being really good, and actually sold out!  Happy Mother's day mom, we hope you enjoy your present!  I did, I LOVED that I actually knew the songs, so i could sing along!    I LOVE you!  :)

Nina meets Disneyland part 3

....and on the 3rd day just us 3 girls went....  Nono, had had enough, and gaby had to work...  So off we went, a little later than we wanted...  but we finally got on the road and beat traffic!  :)
We decided to go straight to California Adventure to see if we could still get tickets to World of Color...  If you haven't seen it...  you should!  ;)  it's another one of my favorite shows....  on our way to get tickets we ran into.....

Minnie Aviadora....  she gave us her autograph,

......and then took a picture with Nina!

....and of course we needed a group shot!  ;)

We had no luck getting tickets, so we went back to Disneyland to try and hit some of the rides we had missed the last 2 days!  ;) 

we met the "hada madrina" Fairy Godmother on our way in....  YAY!!!  :)  and she too signed Nina's book!  ;)

I LOVE how she's just "watching".....  :)

una foto, por favor  :)

despues hicimos un deseo en el pozo de blanca nieves....  :)

...y nos tomamos una foto con los enanos!

tambien nos tomamos fotos en frente de el castillo

y nos comimos un churro!  ;)

tambien esperamos en linea para ver a Alicia en el país de las maravillas.....  mientras esperamos en la linea, yo llame para hacer reservaciones en un restaurante para que nos dieran tickets para el show de la noche....  ahhhh, technology these days!  ;)

LISTAS!!!! 

Nina wanted to sit in the front....  :)

Tia Chiqui wouldn't keep her eyes open....  so after the third try she finally did!  ;)

After Alice we ran BACK to California Adventure for lunch....  paramos en San Francisco...  ;)  y nos fotografiamos en frente de el puente Golden Gate!

finalmente llegamos a almorzar....  :)

el menu era especial, era parte de un grupo con el show!

La tia Chiqui se tomo foto en el "patio" jaja!

y despues llego el pan.....  mmmmmmm  :)

and the salad was to die for....  well minus the onions...  ;)

I ordered the lasagna...  and it was tasty!  yes, I ate it all gone!  ;)

AND Nina's spaguetti must of been AMAZING because she ate hers ALL GONE too....  she actually asked for more....  oh oh!  ;)

......again a dessert platter arrived shortly after!  ;)

le pinto un dibujo a Max vreo?  o talvez era para su mama?  ;)

Lindas flores!

.....and my favorite...  yellow roses!

in front of the grizzly rapids!

le dio "one thumb up" a su aventura en california...  dijo que Disney le habia gustado mucho!

otra de las 3!  :)

.... tambien visitamos a los animales de la jungla...  y nos dio tiempo de descansar un poquito en el tren!

otra foto!  :)

y nos subimos a las cajitas voladoras tambien...  Nina escogio la caja de galletas de animales!

de alli nos fuimos a pararnos en linea para Toy Story.... 

y Nina, nos modelo los lentes... 

jaja!  que coqueta estava...  :)

ya casi era nuestro turno!  ;)

somos los siguientes!  ;)

vamos otra vez??  ;)

despues nos fuimos a buscar lugar para ver el show....  primero una foto de la nona y Nina con otro churro!  ;) 

esperando.....

la espera fue un poco largo, pero despues de habernos comido unos cuantos churros, y tomado unos chocolates calientes....  empezo el show!!  :)

wow!  y si estoy contenta con las fotos...  salieron mejor de lo que yo crei!  ;)  de vez encuando Nina me miraba con una gran sonrisa en su carita....  Que bueno que le gusto el show...  :)

A medio show me dijo que ella queria traer a Max para que el viera el show tambien....  talvez el ano entrante?? 

yo pienso que el show es fantastico...  ojala que les aya gustado a ellas tambien!  ;)

we left after the world of color show ended....  BUT we got lucky and go to watch the firework show on the way out...  AGAIN!!!  :)

we stopped by the world of disney store to visit Lumiere and to do a little shopping...  ;)

...and Nina fell asleep in my arms inside the store...  I think she had seen everything and was really tired!  :)

Here's to the end of a wonderful 3 days at the magic kingdom...  i can't wait until my cousin, her husband, their son and Nina come see us...  I'm sure Max will enjoy Disneyland just as much as his sister did!!  Thank you Nina, for showing me Disneyland thru your eyes...  and thank you for eating just as many churros as I did!  ;)