Al's Life!

Recently, we celebrated the memorial of our friend Al. I was tearing up a lot over several reasons! 1. These stories about Al were absolutely amazing. 2. Death is scary and good. 3. I want to live a full life like him. Ahhhhh I never got to finish this blog. But I want to post what I started write so I can at least look back and recall this time.

March 2016

Finding the time to blog has been more difficult that I thought! I also would rather spend my free hour or two- painting my nails, coloring, or reading HP and other books. sigh... Sometimes I also forget how to express in brief amount of words what has been going on! Nonetheless, I shall try to summarize! Thoughts lately - dude i only have about 2 and a half months for my DLAND pass. NOOOOOOOOO. Im not sure if I will get renewed but I want to go at least once a week!!! - ugh death strikes again. in all honesty, I dont handle death as I ought to. In my head, instead of rejoicing my friend is with Jesus, I just think I should have done this and that... I should have talked about this and that. I get guilty. I feel sad. I feel things are unfair. I feel sad for his wife. BUT what I should be recalling is God's faithfulness. My friend is only receiving the new mercies and grace of the Lord as he is now in the presence of who he was created for. also, its been reminding me to be more thoughtful and intentional in my relationships. -i spent the day cleaning our apartment. man!!! i do not know how i will ever manage a house because those are so big!!!! im exhausted. haha -JOSE IS GRADUATING THIS MONTH!!!!! and we are so excited!!!!! -i love celebrating my dear's birthday. i got him some sweet stuff from ADIDAS, we had a full day at the beach where we bbq'd, played all things to do with sports, and had our time near the water too! (notice I said near, because it was TOO DANG COLD to completely immerse myself in it). i was sick the week of his bday and he was gracious to take care of me when i was not feeling like doing anything!!! we went to eat at bachi burger with friends also. that was a blast. -speaking of being sick, it took me out of working out for a week. that bummed me out cuz i felt strong for a good month. but honestly it was good to REST and SLEEP. but i still felt super bloated, weak, and fat. ive been loving the treadmill at work cuz i get to walk at least 50 minutes a day! plus getting my gym time after is great! if you ever want to go with me, I can bring a friend:) - marriage has been sweeter this month. im so so so thankful for that!!! i adore jose more and more! -i legit felt Easter was earlier this year... still got to celebrate Jesus rising from the grave with the church family, dyed eggs with fam, and enjoyed time with Jose's fambam. -been enjoying my meetups with girls. its really made my heart glad! -been so thankful for thursday nights when a group of us are going over the old testament. i am seeing the big picture, Jesus, and the gospel in all things. Its been so awesome to eat, sing, and study the bible with these people. Hoping for a sweet April:)

Updates Around Here!

Ack I really am going to try and blog weekly. A couple of notes Fitness- I am TRYYYYYING to eat better. I walking a TON at work- about 50 minutes a day since they put in a treadmill! I am also trying to go to the gym at least 5x a week doing more cardio and a bit of weights. My GOAL is to lose about 10 lbs. BUT, i honestly need to eat better. I lack discipline in that area cuz i love to eat what i want to! I loooove to snack too. But slowly I am trying to learn how to cook better, make substitutions, control portions, not eat a ton of carbs, and eat more fruits/veggies. Being a Wife- Honestly i love and hate it. I 80% enjoy being a wife. I LOOOOVE serving Jose in all aspects of marriage- laughing, cooking, cleaning, cuddling, reading, praying, memory making, forgiving, encouraging, listening, etc. I hate the 20% of me who is controlling, impatient, selfish, and frustrated. This 20% wages war HARD on my heart who yearns to be gentle, kind, and loving. Sometimes this 20% wins and comes out far more than I'd like. I want things said in a certain tone, done at a certain time, me to be engaged and spent time with, and helped out in various ways. But of course, those things are all about ME. How I am so wrapped up about ME sometimes to the point where it drives me to be frustrated at my husband saddens me. I cant make marriage about works and things he does for me and doesn't do for me. It will never work. There is so much room to grow, but thank God for the Holy Spirit to convict and be a helper to see these things. Thank God for Jesus for redeeming me when I was dead in my sin. Thank God for grace. Life- it never stops. Sometimes I do crave and want quiet time, but sometimes I get bored or I feel I am not doing much. I keep seeing people (which I LOVE!!!!), working 10 hrs a day, going to the gym, coloring my colorbook (ill show you all pictures later!!!- its been sooooo therapeutic), watching flash & arrow on netflix, listening to podcasts about gilmore girls & monk, and reading a couple of books (harry potter, the king and his beauty, and prayer) How do I tell the difference between me being a lazy bum and being too busy?! what is the difference?! An idea- If we ever own a house, Lord willing, we will have a backyard where we can invite our neighbors, friends, and family over for dinner ALL. THE. TIME. In the meantime, I want to plan little gatherings and get togethers at someone else's home (haha) to meet others, get to know them, and share life. I think its so amazing to learn about different cultures, beliefs, thoughts and gather around a dinner table to snack, craft, eat, drink, and make things! Totally hinting this idea towards Ruby right now, OR maybe Sarah, to do this on a regular basis. This generation I feel its hard to be open with our lives and want to know other strangers. But I just think it would be awesome!!!! Financially- We paid off Jose's car!!! WOOOOHOOOOO! The next goal for us this year is to get out of school debt. We have $3500 more, and we are hoping to get rid of it by the end of 2016! :D THE GREAT NEWS is that my husband is graduating in 2 months and I am so so so so so so excited and proud. Its all worth it. Anyways, I am off to bed. Hope to blog again soon. <3

2016 Goals

My husband is in a facebook group where they will keep each other accountable with their 2016 goals. They had to write 7-10 goals, so I just wanted to write some of my own that hopefully will be met, God willing!

1. Read the new testament this year and study through the old testament in the book "A King and His Glory"
2. Take time to pray and know all members of my church and disciple at least two of them
3. Pray daily for at least 10 minutes.
4. Read 5 books outside of my Harry Potter series :p
5. Pay off car debt (4k left)
6. Pay off school debt (4k left)
7. Begin a family-if the Lord wills!
8. Get healthier by eating and exercising. Lost 10 lbs! 9. Go on 2 dates a month with my husband. Go on two little vacations and grow in the Lord with him by reading and praying!

Socal Trifecta Challenge

Two friends and I dared to venture out on an adventure to conquer to socal trifecta challenge: desert, snow, and beach.

We turned it into four places after the first mountain we went to had NO SNOW. haha! but it was worth it!!! it was a fun filled day filled with catching up, singing our favorite musicals (sound of musical and wicked), and picture/video taking!

Here are some sweet moments with the dearest of gal pals

ANDDDDD here's the video summarizing the day!

Joshua Tree National Park

We visited Joshua tree for the first time. It was AMAZING. Here are some quick shots.

Orlando 2015

This has been a long awaited trip for my family. I was so excited to take my husband with me for the vacation! We Youngs are dedicated and we try to have energies at 100%! We had tight schedules for each day and we knew there would be LOTS of walking. I averaged around 15,000 steps a day and even hit 20,000 steps on the last day! Orlando is humid and wet. It seemed to be a norm which I didn’t really expect, but we made the best of it! We took a red eye flight there, but I absolutely HATE red eyes. We did not get much sleep AND we had a layover in Houston at 3am. Dad picked us up and we pretty much headed straight towards Epcot. Tired but exhilarated!

Epcot
If I had to ask for to go to a place for more time, it would be here. You could truly spend an evening in each country- eating the food of the land, going to take pictures of recreated iconic places, and watching performances. There were many countries represented like China, Italy, England, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, etc. Jose was wondering where the Philippines were at though…. Awkward…. :p We did our best to conquer all the different countries and it was so interesting! It did rain a tad in the night time so that was a bummer. Nonetheless, we continued to run about in our ponchos and travel around the world! We specifically enjoyed the German buffet and street performances! There was one that particularly made me nostalgic- JAMMitors. This was a show at Disneyland Resort when I was younger and it was still GREAT!

Animal Kingdom
This was Joses favorite day. He’s always seen this place advertised when he was a kid- so it was a big deal! Ill first tell you that the Lion King and Finding Nemo show were absolutely perfect. Specifically the finding nemo- it was like a mini broadway show. Seriously. Then seeing all the animals in person like gorillas, hippos (joses fav), giraffes, and cheetahs were fantastic! We went on a legit safari that took us around. It rained SO HARD on us in the middle of the day. We thought we brought the rain with us from our wedding!! There was one ride specifically that was BOMB. Everest! Whoooo!- highly suggest this one.

Disney World
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I had to go here for my birthday- where Id run around in my HBD button and hat! I had a big ol baymax on my shirt and wore it proud! This day was ride filled! Thunder, space, splash, and the people mover were the favs. We enjoyed how spacious everything was here. We attempted to eat at Belle’s Castle but it was all booked from 6 mos prior!! SO SAD. We ate dinner at a lady and the tramp Italian restaurant. BOMB pasta. We got to watch the classic electrical light parade. Always so good. Then we moved to the front of the castle to watch the projected show on the castle which was LEGIT and the fireworks afterwards. LOVED ITTTT.

Hollywood Studios
Okay, the shows here were LEGIT. Indiana Jones was a little behind the scenes, audience involved, action packed comedy! There was a fast and furious cars show that demonstrated neat car action tricks and chases. So cool! There was a beauty and the beast show that got a little lamer since I last saw it but still a decent performance haha. We ate at a cute little 50s themed diner for dinner. The aerosmith rollercoaster to “Sweet Emotion” was FUN!!!! I beat Jose in toy story (hehehe)! Tower of terror was a thrill!!! I screamed all hard. FANTASMIC KILLED ME. This show I was hooting, hollering, singing, dancing the entire time. I oohed at the lights and fireworks, aahhed at the characters, and cheered with every surprise. It was brilliant! We had great seats too and it was absolutely fantastic.

Universal Studios
We saved the best for last. I have been waiting for this place since high school: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This place BLEW ME AWAY. My sister was in tears and I was just loving every moment. I soaked in this fantasy place they built. Diagon Alley. First of all we had to cross through 9 ¾ Platform into the place where you shop for all wizarding things. Of course I got my wand- HERMIONE!!! We obviously had to get the butter beer- regular and frozen (I prefer the frozen!!) It was sugar goodness! We went through the many shops (jokes shop, candy shop, wand shop, nocturne alley) and took pictures of all décor. We rode the rides which were so well made with the technology and HP lands and characters. Jose said it was the best simulated rides he has been on. We then proceeded to ride the Hogwarts Express to the other Universal Studios campus to visit Hogsmede and the castle which was just wonderful. Yes, there are two Universals here! WHAT!!! We ate at Three Broomsticks. I honestly have no words for this imagined place in my mind coming to perfect fruition. It didn’t feel touristy, but really legit. I was geeked out in my Harry glasses and shirt my sister made for me. It was a really magical time. We then proceeded to the rest of Universal Studios. Jose and I killed the ride game- getting soaked on the best log ride weve ever been on, Jose finally beat me in a gun shooting game at Men in Black, Jurassic and Mummy were just fantastic, and there was a sick roller coaster that had my stomach spinning! Honestly it was just a winner.

We ended the night with treating my family out to Cracker Barrel which had amazing comfort food. Our whole table was filled with food that everyone killed!!!! Haha!

Im writing this blog as I fly back home to LA. We agreed there were things likes rides and shows in Orlando that kinda pooped on the amusement parks Anaheim but I cant blame them, they have so much land to do things! I still very much so love my Anaheim Disneyland. This was such a dream trip and Im thankful it was with my favorite people. It was honestly undeserved but God continues to be kind to us in ways we are not worthy of receiving. Thank you Jesus.