It Takes Two to Tango

2011 In Retrospect (and 100th blog post!)

2011-12-31T11:51:00.000-08:00

"If it didn’t bring you joy, just leave it behind.

Let’s ring in the New Year with good things in mind.

Let every bad memory go that brought heartache and pain,

And let’s turn a new leaf with the smell of new rain.

Let’s forget past mistakes, making amends for this year."

-Anonymous

It does seem like time passed by us and we did not even notice it. There was so much going on, and the next thing we knew, 2011 is almost over. Carl and I have been blessed with so many things this past year, we learned many things, and we've been reminded of the many wonderful things that we so often take for granted. The Lord, in so many ways, took us by the hand and helped us create a wonderful year.

Here's a quick rundown of the year that was...

JANUARY

We spent New Year's with friends and family in Southern California, complete with a road trip and a day well spent in Disneyland. I started my second semester in graduate school while Carl started his last term. Work continued to go well with Carl, and that kept him really busy. My brother turned 21 and received his mission call to serve in the Butuan Philippines Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Carl fell in love with snowboarding, and he went up to Sundance with friends a couple of times. It was our first real winter, I guess, and we tried to keep ourselves warm!

FEBRUARY

We had two Valentines day dinners -

an advanced Valentines date at Joe's Crab Shack, and a romantic dinner at home on Valentine's day itself.

It was also little Keana's first birthday!

MARCH

My brother, Yken, started his 2-year LDS Mission in Butuan, Philippines.

Carl's brother-in-law, Ricky, also got baptized on Marrch 27th, and we all drove to Long Beach to witness it. Carl also confirmed him on the same day.

APRIL

I worked on a project about interracial romantic relationships and presented it during BYU's MaryLou Fulton Conference.

Carl and I also took a trip to San Diego (all expense paid, YAY!) to attend the 4th Annual Clinton Global University Meeting held at UC-San Diego. And we also got to see the San Diego Temple, which, more than meeting a US President, was the highlight of our trip.

Also, my parents were granted 10-year multiple entry US tourist visas, and so they boarded a plane (actually a total of three planes) and visited us! It was the best spring break of all time!

MAY

Carl earned his Masters degree in Information Systems from Minot State University, and we flew there to attend his graduation.

Ate Lei also visited us for a couple of days and I got to spend a day with her and Jasmine and Keana.

We also had a lot of fun with my parents during spring break. We did a lot of activities together and we made sure it was a well deserved vacation for them.

JUNE

Since my parents vacation was almost over, we decided to pack their last couple of weeks with us with things on their bucket list. Mama wanted to visit every single temple possible, Papa wanted to see Las Vegas, and both of them wanted to see snow - like the real kind falling snow. So we did just that!

JULY

Carl turned 27!!!

AUGUST

We celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary!

I turned 25 :)

And we took our 5th trip of the year - to San Francisco - to take care of some personal stuff and reconnect with Carl's past love (San Francisco Mission)...

SEPTEMBER

I started my last year in BYU, which entailed working on a thesis and teaching a class. And Carl got promoted from a systems analyst to a software engineer. And the Wymount Filipino community grew from 2 members to 4 (and some adopted family members) :)

OCTOBER

We had LOTS of visitors on General Conference weekend...

And we carved our first pumpkins for Halloween!

NOVEMBER

I went to Orlando to attend a research conference (which was also my first trip in the US all by myself).

And we had an AMAZING Thanksgiving - with a lot to be thankful for!

DECEMBER

It was a wonderful year and we wrapped it up with all the joy and happiness of the Christmas season!

Disclaimer:

We did not intend to end the year with our 100th blog post - it was purely coincidental. But then again, sometimes, we find it a really fun coincidence!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

This year, Christmas was indeed memorable for Carl and I and we hope it was for all of you too. For weeks, we have been trying to decide on what we are going to do for the Christmas weekend, and at one point we thought it would have been a lot easier if we were home in the Philippines because the answer would automatically be - WITH FAMILY. Then again, since that was not a very feasible option at this time, we had to make do. And then we had a bright idea - why not still spend it WITH FAMILY. We can do a road trip with Jasmine's little family and drive down to southern California and have Christmas with ate Lei & Ricky? Brilliant! But then again, Jasmine and her family just took a trip to the Philippines and it didn't seem practical to take another trip. So after much consideration, we decided we'd do still do it - just the two of us - take the 12 hour drive to Los Angeles and spend the weekend with Carl's older sister.

The Christmas weekend started on the night of the 21st. Since we won't be having Noche Buena at our apartment, we decided we'll have a Christmas dinner before we leave for California.

Our Christmas Dinner Feast - Filipino style Spaghetti, Garlic Cheddar Biscuits,
Banana-Raisin Bread, Crab Rolls, Lumpia, & Pigs in a Blanket

We also decided to open our gifts. Our gifts were sort of secret this year, and so Carl didn't know what's been sitting under the tree and the same is true with me. However, that morning, Carl took his gift for me from under the tree and when he came home that night, he locked himself in the room and I assumed he was wrapping gifts because he also grabbed the big roll of Christmas gift wrapper. These are our gifts to each other.

We both got books (JV: Rachael Ray Cookbook & The Little Prince; Carl:Steve Jobs Biography).
Carl also got me my nude pumps (and another book, Tuesdays with Morrie)
and I got him his Michael Jordan cap.

We left early the next morning. Carl did the morning shift until we got to Las Vegas - where of course we went on a date. We ate at Jollibee and did a little shopping at the outlet stores. Then it was my turn, until sundown. We arrived in California around 9pm and visited with our friends Mhar and Liezel in Bell Gardens and stayed with them for the night.

Before there was nothing but bones...

Best friend bonding time!

The morning of the 23rd, we headed to ate Lei's place in Downey and spent the rest of the weekend with them.

Strolled and played "badminton" in Seal Beach, enjoyed the lights in Naples,
great family Noche Buena, and visiting Joyce on Christmas Day!

Carl and I had a really good time in California. In fact, we felt more full than tired. Our tummies were as full as our hearts. We were able to visit friends and family, and enjoyed each others' company. We visited the Pascuals in Sherman Oaks, we met up with my childhood girlfriend Bernice in Long Beach and had light snacks at La Creperie, we also visited Peggy, and most of all - we visited Joyce and her grandkids in her home in Lakewood.

On Monday morning, the 26th, we were ready to go back to Utah. We left early, and we capped our trip with a hearty lunch at Todai in Las Vegas.

Seafood Lunch in Las Vegas :)

It was indeed, a wonderful time of the year!

tis the Season to be Jolly... fa la la la la, la la la :)

2011-12-20T22:47:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love the holidays? Everyone seems to be happy these days. Carl would say, life would be better if people were this happy all year round. As a couple, Carl and I love the holidays. We look forward to how interesting our holidays become each year, and we are never disappointed. There is almost always something about the Christmas season each year that makes it as memorable as the last. Here's a couple of reasons why Christmas this year has its own way of becoming interesting.

First, the weird weather - so much for the hopes of a white Christmas this year. I don't think the snow is ever going to come in time for a snowy Christmas eve. It's not even that cold - 40 degrees in December?! Its like we skipped forward to spring. Anyway, the weird winter season is just one of the reasons why the holidays is interesting this year. Though, i must admit, the relatively warmer weather makes it easier for Carl and I to enjoy the holidays. I hate walking on icy pavements or strolling while the bitter cold wind is blowing on my skin. I guess I can live with a less wintery Christmas this year. We are, however, still hoping we could build our first snowman soon :)

Second on the list, the Christmas parties - here's some of them.

1. Ward Christmas Party. It was a BREAKFAST CHRISTMAS PARTY. Carl and I thought it was weird we had the party early in the morning. We are so used to dinner parties i guess. We had toasts and pancakes and sausage and fruits and orange juice. Again, that was weird. Last year, it was potluck dinner and the ward bought hams that were assigned for some families to cook. We were invited to talk about our "traditional" Christmas stories. Carl and I ended up telling everyone in the ward how long Christmas is in the Philippines - i guess that beats all other "traditional" stories.

2. MFHD Christmas Dinner. This was the dinner party that "almost" never was. Here's the short story - one of the students in our program was curious if we were going to have a party this year since we've always had one since she got on board. We have a new department secretary, who did not know that we usually have a Christmas party, and so when this particular student approached her, she thought she was being thoughtless and sent an apologetic email to everyone (students, faculty, and staff) and asking for suggestions. One faculty replied to everyone and said a christmas party wasn't necessary and having one each year sort of grew just out of habit. Anyway, a date was set but everyone seemed like they didn't know if it was going to happen or not... so I asked the student who brought it up in the first place and this was the response I got: "Dr. X said i opened a can of worms and so I need to take care of it." and then I was given the details of the party. In my mind, "Oh great, we're just doing this to save your face?" I mean, there was no enthusiasm in the response I got, rather what I felt was an attitude of "lets just get this done and over with!" Oh well, i still signed up for dessert and made flan for everyone. On the night of party, it got even weirder for me. First, some of the students were all gathered at the dinner table ala real Christmas dinner, and then some were on the counter. Second, while some were doing a christmas game, some were doing their own thing on the other side of the room - might as well have two dinner parties. Third, after the game everyone was just talking stories of whatever. The feeling that I got was, really, the party had a lack of a lot of enthusiasm. True, I could have been proactive and made it more lively - but I felt like I wasn't in a position to do so (hello, rude?). But anyway, my flan was a big hit and because it was a little crusted some people thought it was actually creme brulee. We left the party early because we had to meet up with Jasmine & Keana at the mall (and I was actually excited about that!)

Date with Jasmine & Keana at the Provo Mall after
the MFHD Christmas Dinner

3. Potluck Party @ the Catubays. This was a fun one. Carl and I were glad we chose this party over the Filipino community party in Orem. Nothing against the other party, I'm sure it was a fun one too. It just felt like it was more intimate, enjoying dinner with good friends that you don't get to see very often and laughing with the children and playing like we weren't grown-ups. It was fun. I brought arroz caldo and everyone else brought equally good food. We also had a little gift exchange, white elephant style. This was white elephant, so anything goes... and you get the chance to pick whatever gift you like even when somebody has already picked it. Well. for me, I have my strategies to get the gift I really like! We had so much fun we forgot to take more pictures. We had so much fun at the Catubays that night.

4. Family dinner with the Milburys. Since Carl and I won't be spending Christmas weekend in Utah, we decided to have our family Christmas dinner with my sister-in-law's family in advance. We met up with the Milburys in American Fork where we planned to have dinner at Asian Buffet. Carl and I got there first, so we decided to check out the place beforehand. That was a good move, because we weren't sold after walking through their buffet line. Proof? In one of their hot lines, there was a note encouraging customers to get food from the bottom of the pan (closest to the heat source) because they are warmer. Duh? That's common sense - but, if you have to tell your customers where to get the warmer food, that just means something is wrong with your equipment thus there is a possibility that your food will make us sick. So there, we left the restaurant with the decision that we are not eating there. When Jasmine and them arrived, we decided we'll have dinner at Five Guys, which was tricky because Jasmine doesn't really like burgers - especially when she is pregnant (which she is). But I guess Five Guys burgers are amicable with her tummy, because she actually enjoyed them. Scott had fries overload - which was good because when he's high with carbo, he's usually happy :) We also exchanged gifts that night. We gifted Jasmine a cookbook and Scott an AngryBirds shirt. They gifted us with a Cold Stone gift card, a fridge magnet, and - are you ready for this? a CROCKPOT and a PRINTER! Yup, most awesome gift ever :) As for the precious little Keana, we gave her a Minnie Mouse plush toy - her eyes glowed and she was a happy little girl!

Speaking of gifts, that's the third reason why this year's Christmas is interesting. Carl and I have gifts for each other here and there. Something like, we go to the mall, and one of us would say, I think I like that for Christmas and then we'll get it. Anyway, this year our "main gifts" (the one we wrap and not open until Christmas eve) were secrets. Carl came home one day and his gift is already under the Christmas tree. And he did the same for me. Something noteworthy though, is that we gifted ourselves this year - sort of like our gift to our little family. We bought a MICROWAVE - for the FIRST TIME. When we got married, we received a microwave as one of our wedding gifts. When we moved from Hawaii to California, we shipped our microwave to the Philippines along with other stuff we didn't want to get rid of. Our apartment in California was equipped with a microwave, so we didn't need to buy one. When we moved to Utah, our neighbor was moving out and they handed down their microwave to us. Lately, that microwave would not work well anymore. Like we warm up left over for five minutes and only the surface would warm up. So we decided - IT WAS TIME.

First Microwave we ever bought - $45 courtesy of Walmart

This is really the time of year when everyone is happy. The parties might not always be fun or dinners might be less enjoyable, and gifts could be big or small or something we don't exactly like. But these imperfections do not necessarily have to ruin Christmas. Like what Elder Dieter Uchtdorf said during his Christmas Devotional message this year, the perfect Christmas events, trees, and gifts doesn't define what Christmas really is - rather, it is the wonderful things that redirect us to the one who we celebrate this season for. Surely, we enjoy the celebrations and the lights and the fun gatherings and the gifts we give and receive, but may we always remember the real reason for this season - our Savior, Jesus Christ.

the light at the end of the tunnel... and a glimpse of the future

2011-12-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

I am officially three quarters done with my Masters. Yes - the light at the end of the tunnel is almost in sight. It has been a great semester, with a lot of challenges and a ton of lessons learned.

I took two classes, attended a research conference, submitted a manuscript for publication, completed my thesis prospectus, and taught an undergraduate class. It was quite a ride.

I don't remember exactly how many papers I wrote, but I had 10 drafts of my prospectus. One night, I worked on it non-stop for 12 hours. A week later, I worked on it again for 16 hours without closing my eyes. I once again discovered the power of Coca-Cola. I used to need a liter to stay up - now I only need a glass.

This semester, I must say, showed me my future - and I think I like it. I taught my first undergraduate class. I developed a syllabus based on the materials from a more seasoned professor. I created my own exams. I gave official grades. It was both unexpected and not a surprise at all. Unexpected because I told myself once that I'd like to do something different than what my parents do for a living. At the same time, it was not a surprise because I have been born and raised in the academic world - spending my afternoons as a five-year old sitting at the back of my mother's classroom as she taught college algebra (though the algebra did not rub on me as much). I realized that teaching is something I'd like to do for a very long time.

My SFL 224 Sec 1 students - It was an amazing experience!

During our last day of class, I treated my class with pizza. It wasn't a bribe or anything. I guess more of a celebration. I can never be grateful enough to my 20 undergrads who came to class and treated me as if I am "real" professor. I know that a lot of times, my inexperienced teaching skills overpowered my desire to teach effectively, but they did their part none the less... and because of that, I was motivated to improve and become a better teacher. My students were smart, and it could be intimidating sometimes. But then again, we learn as we grow... It was as if I was learning with them, only on a different plane. At the end of each day, I tell myself - "well, that was a good class" and more and more, I am convinced that I have found my place in the academic world - or at least I have found the place where I want to be.

By the way, Carl surprised me with a bouquet of flowers on my last teaching day - and treated me to Tucanos for a well deserved dinner for the both of us!

Also, before the semester officially ended, I was able to defend my thesis prospectus. It could have been worse - in fact, i thought i wouldn't make it to the deadline. I have the best graduate committee one could ever ask for. The prospectus meeting lasted for an hour and thirty minutes, the first ten minutes was me talking and the rest was my three super smart professors talking about what else I can do to improve and solidify my thesis. In the end, I passed pending revisions, which is all that I could ask for! And as promised, Carl took me to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack where we overindulged ourselves with crabs and shrimps and lobster.

Seafood Overload!

And that was the end of Fall Semester 2011 :)

November wrap-up

2011-12-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

I. NCFR Conference in Orlando, Florida

In the past two years, I have convinced myself that I love to do family science research. Actually, i find social science fascinating - the same way some people are amazed with molecules and gravity or animation. This year, my weird fascination with the family as a social institution paid off with a poster presentation at the 73rd National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. My research partner, Sherry Cowen (PhD student, MFHD), presented the findings of our meta-analysis of resilience education programs for children and adolescents. You ever heard of programs in schools where children are taught social-emotional skills on top of math and science? Or those little workshops that seek to help young people to boost their self-esteem especially when they are at-risk for negative outcomes such as anxiety or depression? We looked at those programs and evaluated if, overall, they were working. We basically found that taken together, they weren't as effective as we hoped they'd be. However, when the programs were more focused and directed toward a specific child outcome (e.g., self-esteem), they are more effective. I wouldn't discuss much of the research here, but if you guys want to know more, i'll be more than glad to explain these things in detail.

Welcome to NCFR!

This is Sherry, the most amazing research
partner one could ever ask for!

We stayed at the Rosen Centre Hotel. It was a decent place... It's beautiful
outside and the lobby and meeting areas, not so much the guest rooms.

Good morning Orlando!

Orlando at night - view from our 15th floor window

This was my first professional conference, EVER. It was amazing! On top of that, it was in Florida. The humidity totally transported me to a happy place. It would have been better if I was able to take Carl with me, but I didn't even pay for my airfare. Maybe we'll go back together. Anyway, I indulged myself with seafood - from the day I set foot in Orlando to the last meal I had at the airport - i ate fish, crabs, shrimps, and everything seafood that I can afford. I also went to downtown Disney with a couple of colleagues. I wouldn't say I was impressed. The Disney store in Disney World, claimed to be the biggest Disney store in the world, was just overstocked with the same items you'll find in Anaheim or even at the mall. There were some unique items. but overall, it was just same old same old. I guess inside Disney world, with its six parks, would have made the huge difference. But we only had a day to spend and we didn't want to pay a hundred dollars if we will be short with time.

with Lena and Shelece at Downtown Disney

I tried to look for Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, but the store didn't have it...

What if make-overs were fancy like this?!

My gig in Orlando only lasted 2 nights and 2 days. Towards the end of the conference, I was too anxious to be with Carl again. I flew with Frontier airlines, and I felt like complaining many times. But overall, it was a good trip. I had my dose of sunshine in the winter time - and once I landed back in Salt Lake City, snow showers greeted me... and Carl was there, as excited as I was! He planned a great weekend for the two of us, which included a trip to the theater to catch Twilight-Breaking Dawn. How sweet is that?!

II. Thanksgiving (and Black Friday)

Again, I did not make turkey this year. I sort of miss it. But then again, how can Carl and I possibly consume a big turkey all by ourselves? We were invited to a family Thanksgiving dinner in Orem this year. The mom, Celeste, is a Filipina and was a CCH alumna. She has a big family and so they had Thanksgiving dinner at a nearby LDS chapel. We were so full after - good thing they invited Richard to lead us in some Zumba. Yup - shed the calories right away.

After that, we went home and rested for a while - prepared for Black Friday. We've been debating whether or not we should get a Kinect sensor. Best Buy and Walmart sell it for about the same price on Black Friday. We decided to try our luck at Walmart first. I guess it helped that most people were falling in line for the Bundle (XBOX, Kinect, and games). There were only 5 of us who really waited in line for just the sensor. Carl's experience was a different story. He was in line for the $15 games - his goal: Kinect Sports Season 2 and Kinect Dance Central 2. It was CRAZY! Usually, Walmart associates open the sack. In this case, an armed security guard did the job. Carl was able to get what he wanted. I also grabbed a vacuum cleaner and a grill pan set. We asked one of our friends to grab us an office chair (yay for more comfortable thesis writing - and blogging). After that, we avoided the rest of the rush at Walmart and headed to Khol's where we picked up a couple more small items - i bought myself a sweater and Carl a set of belts. The line was LONG! We went home at around 2:30, went to bed - no i lied. We tried our new toy first! Then we went to bed...

Check out our LOOT!

The morning after, we slept in and this was what we had for brunch!

Grilled Salmon & Pineapples, Shrimp Scampi,
Grilled Seafood Salad, and Butter Potatoes

Then went to bed again!

WE TOTALLY LOVE LONG WEEKENDS!!!

Where's the SNOW?

2011-11-29T06:54:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong. I am not winter's biggest fan. I was talking to Carl the other day and I told him it feels weird that it's not snowing yet. By snowing, I meant snow-covered sidewalks and very very cold wind. Since we've moved to Utah, I've gotten used to the season's changing. In fact, that's how I realize that time is passing. This year it feels like the snow is LATE. I am not asking for a lot of it, i guess i just want it be the normal kind of winter.

It sort of snowed early in October, but it never touched ground around Provo. The mountains are now snow-capped, and some places in the valley has gotten their fair share of snow.

The view from our porch. This was on a Sunday morning (I think second Sunday
of November) - it snowed a lot over night. All the snow melted though before lunch time.

I'm sort of hoping for more snow. Not that I'm falling in love with it - I hate walking on slippery and icy pavements. It just seems off to me that its not like last year yet! Plus, I'm excited for Carl to get on the snowboard again. He hates the cold winter, but when he's up on the mountains playing, he sort of forgets the frozen state of things!

We're declaring Christmas EARLY!

2011-11-28T22:28:00.000-08:00

During the Holidays, nothings screams more OFFICIAL than having a CHRISTMAS TREE!

In Filipino standards, I put up our tree late. Our first Christmas as a married couple, we put up our tree in September and everybody else thought we were weird, way over excited. Of course in America, I have to remember that the Holiday season sort of kicks off in October with Halloween, but then again there's still Thanksgiving in November and so Christmas trees usually don't get put up until then. So I tried to balance the Filipino tradition and the American holiday schedule. We decided to wait patiently for Halloween to be over, and then we put up the tree. In the future, we might even have to do that after Thanksgiving because Carl wants a real tree and usually real trees don't go on sale until after Thanksgiving.

During our first year, we decided we'll have a different color theme for our tree and then accumulate tree ornaments from there. But with moves almost every year, it was difficult to keep all of our stuff. We have not moved in the last two years, and so we were able to keep our Christmas ornaments from last year - and so we just bought another set of balls to add to our tree. I think this is going to be the plan for the next couple of years. Also, this year, we decided to start our ornament collection. We've been wanting to do this since the first year but never gotten around it. We bought three special ornaments this year, all them have a special meaning to our family.

This is our family ornament for this year - Forever Family: Tied together with Love.

Carl's ornament is this train set. He could watch it go around the tree for hours!

This is my ornament. Carl bought it so we will always remember
the first time I taught college.

...and then it was October

2011-11-26T00:29:00.000-08:00

As opposed to September, October felt like it was passing by too fast. Particularly for a student like me, October meant MIDTERMS - which I figured really meant "GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER OR ELSE". The overwhelming feeling of the need to get things done has never been so strong until I was both a student and a teacher. In a lot of ways, I was in my students' shoes and I know how terrible it feels to have half of the semester go by and you still do not have a clear picture of how things are going to turn out. So anyway, I felt like October was chasing me day in and day out.

Carl is one amazing fan. He surprises me sometimes. If you know Carl, you already know how easy it is for him to fall asleep. But what you probably didn't know is that Carl can not sleep soundly if he is in bed by himself. So when I needed to pull a couple of all-nighters to finally wrap up my first working draft for my thesis, it really meant a lot to me when he didn't even bother to convince me to sleep already. He also made sure that on those nights, I have my dose of caffeine in the form of a glass of Coke Zero. If you knew how I worked around my writing projects, you probably already know that I need my coke to stay up. Back in college, a 2-liter bottle would keep me up till 2 or 3 in the morning. That's how much I needed! But now, only a glass is enough to keep me writing until 10am the following morning. I guess I am all set for the long sleepless nights of parenthood hahahah!

Anyway, aside from the craziness of school and work, a couple of nice things happened in October... and we were able to spend some time with the most amazing friends that we have.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

1st weekend of October was General Conference. Like last year, Liz and Mhar and Aprilon visited us from California and Washington. A good friend from BYUH who now works in Thailand, Ernest, was with them this year. Jackie, from Liz and Mhar's SA ward was with them too. Kei and her husband Jerryl visited us too, all the way from Hawai'i. Zingeber was also visiting for General Conference with his whole family - they drove to Utah all the way from Vancouver!

On Saturday, we met with most of our BYUH friends and had dinner and talked stories. To burn all the calories, we played Kinect Dance Central - and Zing would not bat an eye if that meant victory! Meeting and catching up with friends was amazing. It felt like nothing changed, just that now we didn't live so close to each other, or for some of us - with each other. Liz and I used to live in the same apartment. Carl and Zing were mission companions. Mhar and Ernest were almost housemates. Kei used to always hang out at our apartment in TVA. Friends make life interesting, to say the least.

Just like old times - except now, Kei is married :)

We love having people over!

Waiting in line, hoping for tickets to get in to the
Sunday Morning Session of General Conference

We didn't have tickets toall of the sessions and only some of us had tickets for a couple of sessions. We tried to wait in line for tickets, but we weren't very lucky. On Sunday morning, we listened to General Conference at the Tabernacle, and then at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in the afternoon. It was an edifying day, and we felt inspired and rejuvenated. General conference is spiritual therapy at its best.

FALL

When we moved to Utah, Fall was no longer just a semester. It was, in every color of the word - a BEAUTIFUL season. The colors are wonderful, I wish I had more pictures. I know, I am lame.

Disclaimer: i did not take this photo - but this is
exactly how it looks like around these parts :)

Carl and I were having this conversation one time, and I said something like how my body has now been accustomed to the seasons - like I was excited for the changing of seasons and how that makes me feel that time is passing. The colors of fall are gorgeous. It has its own beauty, different from that of Spring when flowers are in bloom (and Spring is still my favorite). When the leaves start to fall on the ground, I get excited about many things, one of those being the holidays... which, here in the States, sort of kicks off with the costumes and sugar overdrive of Halloween!

HALLOWEEN

Growing up in the Philippines, Halloween was not really about costumes and candy corns and pumpkins. I kind of felt bad that I wasn't as enthusiastic as Carl about being in costumes. This year, we decided to dress up as rival NBA teams Celtics and Lakers (of course I was wearing my golden yellow Kobe shirt).

On a higher note though, we carved our first pumpkin, EVER!

BEFORE

AFTER

Wake me up when September ends...

2011-11-26T00:20:00.000-08:00

September felt like it would never end

The first two weeks, Carl was staying with me at the lab from 7pm til around 10. When he comes home from work, he'd pick me up from school and we'll have dinner (lucky if I'd already prepared dinner ahead of time, but usually I still had to cook). We figured we were both productive if we weren't tempted to watch TV or Netflix (or go to bed after dinner - LOL) and if we knew we only had limited resources (i.e., we set a time frame for ourselves to get our stuff done for the day). It worked out for a while, but then we would come home really exhausted after a very long day and it became a struggle to spend quality family time during weekdays. We also started missing the gym, which was not a good idea. Carl was playing frisbee twice a week with people from work during thier lunch break and he would also use their on-site gym facilities so he wasn't missing a lot. But me, my only dose of exercise was walking to school everyday. Then I sit on my chair and work on my data set, run analyses, create lectures, teach class, attend class. If only mental exercise can burn as much calories as running on the treadmill or 45 minutes of Zumba, I'd be in perfect shape.

Anyway, we reworked our routine and decided we'll make it a point to go to the gym at least once a week, work over time on campus three times a week instead of everyday, and made sure that 3 nights worth of dinners would be pre-made/frozen so cooking wouldn't take up much of my time. It was a little bit better, but I still did not meet some of my self-imposed deadlines - and one of those being a WORKING DRAFT of my THESIS PROSPECTUS. I need to defend it during the fall semester if I wanted to graduate in April, and that's the goal...and by the way things turned out by the end of September, I might be in slight trouble...

Carl works non-stop, thanks to his data service enabled phone which decreases the stress of not being able to respond to job requests and project needs right away. Some of the things that Carl puts his hands into are time sensitive, and depending on who sends him the request - the response time could be a matter of thirty short minutes. Making sure that mormon.org works, aside from other things, occupies a relatively large portion of Carl's day (and night, sometimes). The stresses of work gets to him sometimes, and sometimes I feel like I don't understand - the same way that the stresses of work and school bring out the worst in me, and I feel like he doesn't understand why I have to run my data over and over again. One time, we watched this video of Paora Winitana from whom we learned a very valuable lesson.

We realized how important it is to come home after a long day and still give your 100% percent to your family. Our loved ones do not deserve left overs - they deserve the WHOLE of us. It is our responsibility to put them on the top of our list, to prioritize them. This applies to a lot of things in our family life. I always tell my students that we are free agents, and by virtue of agency we can choose to make things work or we can give up because life is just darn hard. We can choose to become a SPOUSE first, and everything else can come after that.

So every waking day, even when what's ahead is dreadful and exhausting - we are assured that at the end of it all, we are not alone in the journey. And that makes it all better...

I can just write a summary... but i will not

2011-11-25T22:17:00.000-08:00

Without my tweets here and there and our Facebook status updates, you would probably think that Carl and I have drowned under our respective piles of things to do... Like I said on my last post (which was, unfortunately, almost FOUR MONTHS AGO), we would be under the radar for a while...with school and work and other stuff, it was indeed a very busy last quarter of the year...

But with fall semester winding down now (though I have yet to defend my prospectus - HOPEFULLY before the last day of finals) and the reorganization over at Carl's department getting more settled as the year comes to a close - AND THE THANKSGIVING BREAK that we are always grateful for... I finally found the time to update the family blog...

I have thought of just writing a summary of the last four months in one post... but I realized there is so much to share and I do not want to drag anyone into a novela... so please bear with me, the next couple of posts will cover each month that we've missed sharing...

so - let the stories begin!

Neophyte College Instructor needs your prayers...

2011-08-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

Fall semester starts on Monday. For most students, back to school is pretty literal - back to homework and papers and projects and long sleepless nights for studying. This semester though, its not that basic for me.

This semester, I will be on both sides of the classroom scenario. Twice a week, I am the student. Three times a week, I am the instructor. Yup - And I am freaking out! On top of that, I am also a researcher 10 hours every week. And I also need to shape up my thesis. Yup! I am CRAZY.

This teaching thing is part of my program. Its optional, so only those who want to do the practicum do it. Why did I get myself into this then if it's optional?!?! Two things - I really want to be a professor [particularly in the Philippines] someday, and make a difference in young people's lives (here I go again saving my country one kid at a time), and I only get to teach at BYU once (who knows, but lets not get there for now). So I am doing this even if it takes more of my very little time. I know its crazy, and in the next couple of weeks I might not be in the zone, but I am grabbing this anyway.

I actually have 34 students only as of yesterday... still, this class is a FULL HOUSE!

So I need your prayers everyone... and I mean a lot. Last night, I had a dream about one of my students asking me a question I couldn't answer, not because I didn't know the answer but because I could not understand his British accent. I know... I am so anxious I am having NIGHTMARES!!!

Carl is super excited... and very supportive. He said he's willing to eat on disposable plates or have microwaveable meals for the whole semester if that's what's going to make our life easier! Of course, he is going to be super busy too, with added responsibilities and the church websites expanding to localized versions. So if you guys don't hear from us in the next couple of weeks, don't worry because we're still alive - just buried under piles and piles of school work and job demands!

Oh, we have a crazy life!

We Heart San Francisco

2011-08-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we took our 5th out of town trip of the year - and 3rd trip to California (so far). Together with our friends Jayson and Norman, we drove to and spent the weekend in and around the city of San Francisco.

Reason number 1: PASSPORT RENEWAL. I know. I already attempted to do this last summer. But due to some complications with processing time, I ended up getting an extension of passport validity instead. This time, it was all smooth and easy. The Philippine consulate at Sutter St. in San Francisco opens at 9am, but you can get there early and put your name on the EARLY BIRD list. After 9, they take that list down and you would have to FALL IN LINE to get a number. So we got there at like 8:30 am and I put my name on the early bird list. We finished everything before 10 am! AWESOME... Now I have to wait for 6 - 8 weeks for my new passport (that means OCTOBER). I will have an official ID with my married name on it!

Reason number 2: RETURNING MISSIONARIES. Carl and Norman were companions when they served in San Francisco. Jayson served in Oakland. Now, those two missions have merged, and it is now called California Oakland/San Francisco Mission. It was crazy driving around Oakland and Daly City and San Francisco - on every corner, about every two minutes...I would hear something like: "That's where we did our laundry!" or "We biked this slope once and we were so tired!" or "Didn't Sis/Bro so and so live there? right?". They were having a blast... It was so fun to watch them drive by memory lane in a very literal way. They took a picture at the mission office (which used to be just for Oakland). They didn't take a picture at the former San Francisco Mission office at Sneath Lane, dunno why... but we attended church with the Serramonte Tagalog Ward saints - where Carl served his whole two years... YUP! You read that right, he never left the place!

visiting with Serramonte Ward YSA (Carl said they were all so grown up now!)

Reason number 3: JAYSON & NORMAN'S VACAY. Well this was kind of how the San Francisco trip idea came about. Jayson scheduled a vacation to the Philippines and Norman is taking a trip to Hawaii - with both trips, they could fly out from San Francisco and cut down the cost of an extra flight from Salt Lake City. Were we jealous? You bet we were... Carl has not been home for 3 years now, and we miss Hawaii so bad! Its summer time everyone, who doesn't want a cool dip at Hukilau?!

Reason number 4: FAMILY & FRIENDS. Like I've already mentioned, the guys spent their missions in the area, and we did visit with some of the families they became really friends with. We also stayed with Carl's cousin and her family, and they were really awesome. Of course, I wasn't left behind with all these family and friends reunion sort of thing. I met up with college bud/org mate/ batch mate/ UP SocAn blockmate May. She is attending graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but she has been spending the summer in California where she has family. We all had lunch at MoonStar in Daly City and we had seafood overload. My sister in law also told the staff that it was my birthday (well, it was a couple of days ago) and so all of a sudden 3 staff members where playing a happy birthday drum song at our table complete with complementary cake and a picture of me and Carl! How about that?!

Seafood Overload at MoonStar Restaurant in Daly City

Jv and May reunion - blocmates forever!

with Ate Nalyn & Kuya Jan and their kids, and Ate Lei & Ricky at church

We love San Francisco. It sure is a very busy city, but if there is one place I would love to live in based solely on the weather - it will be San Francisco. It is my perfect weather over there. (Now I am daydreaming of a PhD at Stanford hahahaha!). And Carl - he surely did leave a part of himself in San Francisco, most especially with the Filipino Saints.

3 years and a Silver... part 2

2011-08-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

I am very blessed to have Jerevie in my life, knowing that we are now celebrating our 5 years of togetherness (2 years of exclusive dating, and 3 years of blissful marriage) :). It was truly worthwhile to look forward each day- receiving the blessings, enduring the trials and a whole lot of lovin'.

As she celebrates her 25th birthday, I cannot think of anything to give her but a simple and happy life - together. To be with my Cheeky (absolutely crazy in love with her when her cheeks turn red), is like skateboarding in the park. The day goes by as you skate and enjoy the breeze, take the ramp and you
have some bandages and a couple of sprains, then do your aerials and grinds again. This is life!
I ultimately savor the thrill and excitement that I would want to do it all over again!

To my lovely wife, thank you for being mine. Have a sweet birthday! :)

Steve Carrell - the man!
date @ The Gateway

Juicy Berry - u guys hav mochi?
Enjoyed our fave yogurt

JV's fave - Red Chucks
Got her a new pair of sneakers

animal style baby!
a very healthy dinner

3 years and a Silver... part 1

2011-08-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

WARNING:

This post is going to be lengthy.

This is, after all, about something beautiful...

Carl and I have now been married for 3 years...

It was a Saturday morning on a beautiful Hawaiian day - August 9th 2008. Carl and I were sealed for time and eternity at the Laie Hawaii Temple... it was the beginning of forever.

A lot of things have transpired since that day, and looking back... we are literally astounded at how we were able to cope with the many challenges we faced. We are, at the same time, equally overwhelmed with the many blessings that we have received. It seemed as though the Lord gave us only what we needed, no more no less, as if He was trying to teach us the valuable principle of humility and dependence upon the grace of God. As our family and many of our friends might know, we've had our own share of trials... and there were times when we thought we just couldn't get through anymore. But our present circumstances proved otherwise. This is not to say that we have already been granted everything we ever wanted.... Its just that, looking back, we would have never thought we'll be where we are right now.

I guess it was about taking each day at a time, one trial after the other, and cherishing each blessing as they came. From our simple beginnings in Laie, the Lord has taken us to Provo after our taste of real life in Los Angeles. The Lord had, indeed, His hands working miracles in our lives more than we were aware of. While in Laie, I applied for a graduate program at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. While I was granted a scholarship, I was denied admission to the program I applied to. That, and Carl's graduation from college and promising prospects in Los Angeles, had us packing and we headed to Southern California. While there, Carl took consulting jobs one after another... and project after project he would usually go back to looking for a new one. It was during that very trying time when Carl turned in an application for an IT position with the Church Headquarters... and one night, while Carl was at work, I started my application for BYU graduate school instead of finishing my application essay for CalState Long Beach. What ensued in the next couple of months were truly miraculous.

We now live in Provo... Carl works as a Content Analyst for mormon.org and I am completing my Masters degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development at BYU. Even then, we still think about the future and what will happen next, or rather, what we should do next. Its not easy, its just proving to be more challenging over the years. And at times when we couldn't figure out what's next... we remember the days when the Lord literally carried us through some very strong waves and landed us where He wanted us to be... Carl and I strongly believe the Lord will do that to us over and over again, we just have to keep our faith and stay close to Him. Again, maybe that's why the Lord never gave us more than what we need - so that we continue to believe in the power of His grace.

On the eve of our anniversary, Carl and I watched our wedding video. It brought back so many wonderful memories - beautiful ones. It is heartwarming to look back where we started - how we started we almost nothing. Our bank only had $90. I vividly remembered what Carl told me while we were waiting for our wedding reception to begin: "Wag ka malungkot kung hindi maging kagaya ng plinano mo ang reception, kahit walang taong pumunta... ang mahalaga mag-asawa na tayo." (Don't worry if the reception doesn't go as you have planned, or if no one shows up... whats important is were already married.) He was absolutely right - and we were absolutely blessed. We have the most amazing family and friends.

We have established a tradition that every year, on our anniversary, we will have pizza for one of our meals. That being reminiscent of our first meal at our first home... When we got back from our honeymoon and moved into our first apartment in TVA (BYU-H's married student housing), we ordered a box of pizza from PizzaHut. We had no pots and pans and the fridge was empty... we had pizza in the middle of our luggages and boxes in our tiny studio apartment. We've had so many wonderful meals together since that day... some more fancier than others (and I now have pots and pans and more!).... and our fridge has never been empty again. I was once told that the first thing you bring into your home when you move in is rice and water, that way that home will always have food for everyone. Honestly, I have always done that... but more than coincidence or superstition, I believe the Lord has His hands on whatever abundance we have had. I brought Carl food on our anniversary and we had lunch at their cafeteria. It was something simple, but very special. I love making meals for Carl...

In the past, we celebrated our anniversary with something a little extravagant. Our first year, we went to Universal Studios. On our second year, we spent the weekend at Hilton Garden Suites in Salt Lake City. This year, we decided to keep it close to home - very close. We decided we wanted something more memorable, not a fleeting feeling of joy and celebration. We worked on a project. We redecorated our apartment - nothing big, but the thought was that every time we come home, we are reminded by something that we have worked on together - something that signifies our efforts to work on our eternal marriage. We had a reasonable budget and we worked around it... we bought a coffee table, a TV stand, hung new wall decor, and fixed our couch (instead of getting a new one as originally planned). We also redefined our floor space and added a little decor. Not everything we planned in this project worked out as planned - but as Carl told me the very first day of forever: "ang mahalaga mag-asawa na tayo..."

Carl finds a new hobby...and this one's no mini

2011-07-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

One day, while we were driving, Carl said, "I want to go golfing sometime..."

My response was like, "we can go mini-golfing if you like..."

He was almost upset, and said, "No, I want a real golf course..."

And so he did...

No Tiger yet, but he's sure ecstatic about being out there swinging the clubs!

Thanks to our friend Louie who took Carl out golfing! Carl is really excited about his new found hobby!

Carl's Birthday Weekend

2011-07-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a tradition that we greet our birthdays at exactly 12 midnight... It doesn't matter what it takes, it has to happen! Before the strike of midnight, we had some visitors to celebrate the tradition. But when it was just the two of us again... it was time to bring out the surprise. While Carl was at work, I baked some banana cupcakes and kept them inside the oven (a place Carl never checks). After dinner, Carl was commissioned to stay inside the workroom while I worked my magic in the kitchen... and so Carl's birthday weekend started with this:

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
topped with semi-sweet chocolate shavings

On the morning of his birthday, we had a BIG BREAKFAST! Carl and I seldom eat breakfast together because he usually packs his breakfast and eating breakfast too early gives me tummy problems, so on most days we have brunch hahaha! But this is CARL's day - and its got to be special!

Birthday Breakfast: Garlic Rice, Bacon, Spam,
and Mushroom Frittata with Cheese and Scallions

If there is one food Carl is willing to travel for, it's a warm serving of Jollibee Spaghetti and Crispy Fried Chicken. Believe me when I say that I have never seen him crave so much for something! But then again, the closest place to get this favorite is a 6-hour drive away from home - in Las Vegas! If it was a weekend, I bet Carl would just pick up the keys and we'll drive to Vegas! So I made my version of Jolly Spaghetti (complete with sweet sauce and hotdogs!) and crispy fried chicken for his birthday lunch!

Birthday Baon: Home-made Jolly Spaghetti Meal :)
PS. It was served on a serving platter we got from Jollibee

For weeks, we have been planning on watching the last installment of the Harry Potter series, and where to have dinner after the movie. Again, we can not say this enough - we are seafood lovers! But we live in a place that is no way close to a coast, and we've never found any good place to satisfy our seafood cravings. So in the end - Carl requested I make dinner myself! And so we bought tilapia and some shrimp from the store - and prepared one awesome seafood dinner!

Birthday Dinner: Garlic Shrimp, Fried Tilapia, Corn on the Cob,
Tomato & Mango Salad, and UNLIMITED Rice

...and we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after...
it was a great culmination to an amazing series!

Saturday was gym day, and laundry day, and most importantly TEMPLE DAY! Since the Provo Temple was closed for maintenance, we went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and grabbed a burger from Carl's Jr. on our way home...

Sunday was Carl's birthday party... It wasn't a big party - just friends and family... the biggest thing about Carl's party was his CAKE - his BART SIMPSON birthday cake. You see, Carl loves me so much he thinks I can do anything in the kitchen - including baking and decorating molded/sculpted cakes! So high his expectations hahaha!!! So anyway, I went ahead and bought a molded pan from eBay because Wilton has discontinued the Bart Simpson cake pan forever ago. I baked the cake on Sunday morning, cooked the rest of the menu while the cake was baking and cooling, and when everything was cooked, I started frosting the cake (which took forever I ended up missing church).

Happy Birthday Cake!!!

At the end of the day, everyone was full, and everyone was happy - especially Carl. Our friends even brought food!!! We ate and laughed and talked stories... and it was an amazing birthday weekend! Carl definitely had a blast!

HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY, MY LOVE!

the story behind "One Courageous Day..."

2011-07-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

You guys have probably seen the album One Courageous Day in my Facebook page. So here's the story behind the photoshoot...

Early last month, I received an email from BYU's International Services that the Women's Resource Services are looking for some sort of "models" for their "I am Beautiful Because..." campaign. So basically, you finish the sentence "I am beautiful because..." and if they like your statement, they give you a free photoshoot, and in return they use your headshots and portraits for their campaign (i.e., website, ads, posters, book). It was pretty interesting because, traditionally a person has to be seen first (hence, the term go-see for aspiring models) before they are chosen for a particular job. But for this "gig" they base their decision solely on your perspective about beauty. Actually, the deadline was past due... but they sort of extended it to get more responses. I haven't even heard about the thing until I received the email. So, I responded...

I always believed that true beauty is skin-deep. It is something that transcends Hollywood - that sort of thing. I had my time with the beauty pageants back in the day... it was no way a big time stint, but it makes you feel the pressure of keeping up with appearances and all the superficiality. I have nothing against them though, I still am a follower of pageants, but the part that I always look forward to is the brain picking portion - I mean, what use is your fair skin, long legs, and tiny waist if you don't know anything beyond your beauty regimen or your exercise routine?! After high school, I stopped joining pageants - because I don't meet stricter height requirements and I wanted to focus with school anyway. And I am so glad I did...

I strongly believe being beautiful is a matter of perspective. Mind over matter... Personally, I have had enough people telling me how much weight I have gained since graduating from high school, or since I moved to Hawaii, or since I got married... But I still feel gorgeous you know, with all humility. Because the weight gain is something that I have come to understand as a part of biological make-up, I can only do so much about it. Carl always tells me how much he enjoys hugging me... because there is actually something to hug in me... Whenever he tells me that, I feel very, very special and BEAUTIFUL. One of my pet peeve is tanning/bleaching/whitening. I mean, what is wrong with your color?! Healthy skin is beautiful skin... not pale, not tan. Love your color people - I know I love mine :) There is so much about ourselves that make us beautiful, and it is more than our size or shape or color... it's our soul, our principles, our divine worth...

So a couple weeks ago, I got another email, now from BYU Women's Resource Services, inviting me for a 20-minute photoshoot... I couldn't be happier, and honored :)

The full article about my response and the rest of the photos can be found in the WRS website, and of course in my Facebook album.

Stay beautiful everyone :)

P.S. Brooke Schultz is an awesome photographer, a really nice person. Check out her photo blog and see for yourselves how talented she is

food, fairs, and fireworks

2011-07-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Before I even start talking about what we did for the 4th of July holiday, I am just gonna say how much Carl and I are thankful for America. Carl's been here for eight years now (including his mission), and I have been here for a little over five. Uncle Sam has definitely blessed our lives and the lives of our families, and while being non-citizens have its downsides we are still grateful that we are able to live here and work toward our dreams. It is absolutely a life changing experience to live in the land of free, and the home of the brave! To America, thanks for letting us stay :)

So on to our 4th of July Weekend...

We spent most of our weekend in Provo - at the Freedom Days County Fair. Being there was so reminiscent of strolling through town fairs during fiestas in the Philippines! There was so much food and fun and eye candy!!! We decided to do some food tripping instead of going on the rides. At first I wanted to try one of the rides, but when I learned that 1 ticket costs $5, I decided I'd spend that on food instead. So on the first day we went there (July 2nd), I bought corn on the cob. I know I can make this one at home, but they had a fancy corn roaster, and I haven't had corn on the cob from a street vendor for FIVE LONG YEARS!!! Carl ended up with a Carne Asada Burrito. He said it was really good... Carl's been having an affinity with Mexican food lately. We also tried a non-alcoholic colada, i forgot the flavor but its one of the mango/peach/orange combination.

Reunited with my all-time favorite MAIS!!!

The burrito is almost all gone!
(Thanks for holding my food while I took your picture!)

After feeding ourselves, we headed to the open field in front of the Provo temple to watch the fireworks. The Stadium of Fire concert was ongoing at the football stadium on the night of July 2nd, but the cheapest ticket was still not affordable, so like many others we just waited for the fireworks from outside, which was probably a better idea viewing-wise. The fireworks were great, but both Carl and I thought we've seen the likes of those before. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful sight!

Happy Independence Day, America!!!

The fair was closed on the 3rd because it was a Sunday, but we came back on the 4th before the day ended to grab some more food!!! It was actually a fun weekend - and after being in the States for quite a while... I think the holiday is starting to grow on us!

a pasta machine and some yummy ravioli

2011-07-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

When Carl and I first moved into our apartment here at Wymount, a neighbor was moving out and was getting rid of stuff. Our intention was just to buy their dining table that came with a bench, but when we went to their apartment to pick up the furniture - the lady decided she'll GIVE everything she couldn't take with her - TO US. Apparently, she has accumulated lots of stuff in the last 5 years and it wasn't very practical for her and her family to take all of their things to Indonesia. So there - we "inherited" a couple of things (ala TVA style) from our neighbor.

This thing is one of them. The lady said somebody gifted her a pasta machine, but she's never used it at all. Me - for the longest time I had wanted to learn how to make my own pasta. I like how the Iron Chefs make pasta... it makes me feel like a pro. I was so excited to finally have one. But sadly, the little equipment sat in storage for almost a year - like the lady who used to own it, I never found the time to make pasta... Until now... Lately, we've been trying to do things we've never done together before... we brainstormed and I suddenly remembered my lonely pasta machine!!!

So we decided to go Italiano and made ravioli for dinner two Saturdays ago (I know, the post is late). I honestly don't know much about making homemade pasta - so I did a little searching and found a very helpful article and recipe. The recipe called for semolina flour but I know I can use regular flour (my little sister had done it before for one of her classes). We didn't have a mixer too, so I kneaded the dough by hand on my table top. Kneading, rolling out, and cutting the dough was quite a work-out, I must say, but Carl was a very good helper, as you can see!

Meet Carl, the Sous Chef, rolling out the dough a little
bit before running it on the machine

For the ravioli filling, I decided to just make a basic meat filling. (Now that I know how to make pasta for ravioli, I will have yet to improve my filling recipes!). I originally wanted to make alfredo for the sauce, but I didn't have heavy cream and parmesan cheese on hand... so I just made a mushroom sauce fake-out. It turned out pretty good too!

Beef Ravioli in Creamy Mushroom Sauce

It was a great dinner and we totally felt great about cooking it together and learning something new!

Well, sometimes you've got to try to sleep outside...

2011-06-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Carl and I went to Hobble Creek Canyon to camp with the ward. We were at the Cherry campground, and we had a beautiful spot right by the creek(ish), good food, good company, and a very interesting cold night :)

Bravo!!! We were able to put up our tent!

The guys played frisbee golf in the woods nearby, and the kids had a blast! We all had navajo tacos for dinner and the men made DESSERTS that were really yummy and sweet - my favorite was the pineapple upside down dutch oven cake! For Carl, I think he got some sugar over load - he made this water bottle rocket!

The infamous "where-did-it-go"
water bottle rocket courtesy of Carl

So basically, they put water inside the water bottles, place it upside down on the launch pad connected to an air pump, and they pump air inside the bottle, and when enough pressure has built up they release the string that keeps the bottle in place, and the water bottle rockets up (and some get wet). And so after much pumping...

Up, up, and away (?) "where did it go?"

As it grew darker and the winds got colder, we decided it was time to build a fire and start talking stories around it. It was cool, I must say. Talking stories around the candle during a power outage in the province is still way cooler, I think ;)

Here's Stuart, our neighbor, telling
a story about "Falling Rock"
- and why we should always WATCH OUT for "him"

Sleeping in a tent is an interesting sleeping situation. This is our second time to go camping as a couple, the first time was at Moab and we had a bigger tent and an air bed and sleeping bags. This time, we had a smaller tent, no air bed or sleeping bags, just a comforter and thick blankets. Oh it was indeed an interesting cold night! And Carl couldn't sleep... he was basically waking up almost every two hours checking if we have visitors. Most Utah camping grounds are Black Bear countries, so Carl was a little bit protective on a girl who might smell so good for bears! As for me, it was an ok sleep though I really wished we had a flatter ground - that was compensated though by the sound of running water - it literally hushes you to sleep.

Who doesn't love the sounds of running water... (sigh)

We woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning in the woods. We started to build a fire again, and soon after the men started making pancakes and eggs and bacon for breakfast. We really enjoyed camping with our ward. Being with nature is a very calming experience (minus the warning about the bears) - we got the chance to unwind and not think about my thesis or about translating mormon.org into 70 languages. It was indeed an experience worth of trying to sleep outside.

"...being a Mother is my true Profession"

2011-06-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is Nadia, a family therapy educator, and mother of three - and she loves to cook too!

"...being a mother is my true profession. Nothing else I could potentially achieve

in this season of my life will be of more importance to me than raising my family."

When Carl was working on making this video live for mormon.org. he told me Nadia reminded him of me (except that I already know how to cook before we got married). As I watched a preview of this video, I thought... yeah, we have a lot of things in common: education, culture preservation, faith in God, a testimony of the restored gospel, love of family, love of cooking... and i wished i had three children too. Well for that last part, we'll get to that point one of these days hopefully - but even then, I can say right this very moment, that like Nadia - being a mother is my true profession.

reading the Book of Mormon

2011-06-22T10:49:00.001-07:00

My 15-year old Book of Mormon

CONFESSION: The last time I committed myself to reading the Book of Mormon from beginning to end was in 2005. In fact, I did it twice. I used to put it (and my journal) under my pillows so that I could be reminded to read it every night. The Lord surely blessed my life with the wonderful gospel insights and inspiration that I got from reading it. After reading it, I could proudly say that I genuinely have my favorite books (Jacob, Mosiah, and 3rd Nephi) and that I have gained my testimony of it. It helped me find a new perspective and look forward to better days....

Mosiah chapters 3 - 5: one of my favorite scripture blocks;

Mosiah 4:26 - share that which you have,

Mosiah 4:27 - work diligently with priorities to succeed

Well, with all the stresses in our life right now (school, work, future plans, etc...), I was inspired to reach out to my old friend, who I think has been reaching out to me for the last couple of years. And as the saying goes, a good friend is cheaper than therapy. One night I shared my testimony to Carl about the Book of Mormon, and the next thing I know I was crying (sorry, emotional...crazy hormones)... But seriously, I felt very strongly that this was what I, We, needed to do. We've tried for the past three years to religiously read the scriptures - one verse a day, one page a day, one chapter a day - but then we get so busy we lose track. So last week we started reading again... and my scriptures are not on the shelf anymore but are on the little folding bedside chair. So far, we've been good. We're hoping (and working on) we'll not lose track this time. I know it will bless our lives and give us direction, as it did to mine when I did before. The scriptures are powerful, and yes, like a good friend, its cheaper than therapy.

Here's a powerful scripture from Jacob Chapter 2 that Carl and I were talking about last night...

12And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ^aores, in the which this land, which is a ^bland of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully.

18But ^abefore ye seek for ^briches, seek ye for the ^ckingdom of God.

19And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to ^ado good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

Let's get spiritual therapy everyone! :)

Father's Day Date

2011-06-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

For our Father's Day Date - Carl and I went to dinner at Bombay House here in Provo. Initially, we wanted to eat at Joe's but it was going to be quite a drive... and so we decided that since we have not tried Indian cuisine yet, we'll give it a shot this time. So we went and Carl had the Chicken Tikka Masala which is a popular chicken dish made of breast meat barbecued in tandoor oven, then cooked with bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cream, and spices. I had the Tezpur Pineapple Shrimp which was one of their new menu items. It was a shrimp dish cooked with pineapple, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, coconut cream, and spices. For dessert, we had their homemade mango ice cream!

The food was really good!!! The only weird thing about our date was everything we ordered had the same color profile - ORANGE. Other than that - we enjoyed our food. Carl actually really enjoyed the "spicy" food this time (compared to his very spicy Thai meal at Baan Rao) because he requested for "mild" instead going all the way spicy.

One thing we realized though - is that as much as we really enjoyed the taste and the quality of Indian food, we are not used to generously SPICED dishes. Maybe it will take some getting used to :)

I wanted to post pictures but they're all in Carl's phone... All in all though, it was an awesome Father's Day Date!

Happy Father's Day Carl... and Papa, and Daddy!

Mama and Papa's trip to the U.S. of A.

2011-06-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

So I know Carl and I have been sort of outside the radar. We have not become boring people with no updates, that I can assure you... Still, no excuses... and I will really try to keep this blog updated as often as possible...

After picking them up from SLC Airport, we had dinner at
The Garden at the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg
in Temple Square

First of all, my parents visited us from the Philippines and we had a blast. It was a good month and a half, and it was truly something Carl and I will cherish forever. It was a great blessing for our family, especially for my parents to be granted tourist visas by the US government. I, personally, am grateful for a wonderful husband who helped our family make it possible to come to America. My parents have never been out of the country, well my dad travels a lot throughout the Philippines as a part of his job but mom pretty much hasn't gone out of town a lot. Their trip was indeed a very much deserved one for both of them, as they have worked pretty much with very limited breaks and time-off for the last 30 years. It was a very tiresome almost 24 hour plane ride, which according to my dad has been the hardest thing he has ever done in his life (that is to sit in a seemingly motionless plane for almost 14 hours from Hong Kong to San Francisco). Nevertheless, both of them beamed with gladness when we picked them up at the Salt Lake City Airport. Though we all knew they were tired from their very long flight, their excitement was stronger than anything else.

Mama and Papa after attending
the Salt Lake Temple

As we did most of the Salt Lake City to-do activities one at a time, I came to better appreciate and understand how much this trip really meant to my parents... and I am glad that Carl was able to know them better as well. Three things my parents wanted to see (and do): visit the Salt Lake Temple, see my school (BYU) and Carl's workplace (Church Headquarters/Riverton Office), and have fun with Carl and I and make sure we were ok (well, ok, yeah my dad wanted to see snow and visit Las Vegas since its only a 6 hour drive - pretty much like travelling from La Union to Manila). Of course, we did other things too - but at the end of their trip, my mom said her favorite activity with Carl and I was visiting temples and doing sessions. My dad, he really liked that part too - but Mr. Explorer that he is - he didn't pinpoint anything in particular and said he loved everything (but I know he was ecstatic about experiencing SNOW up in Alta). We visited temples (number one on my parent's checklist), watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, toured BYU (and met with mi propesor who told my mom great things about me I felt embarrassed because really I'm not great - just good haha!), hiked the Y mountain (this proved to be another testament of mi madre's strength!!!), played frisbee and some billiards, did a Kinect sportsfest, danced with Wii Just Dance, took countless pictures in Las Vegas, dined at Jollibee, ate dried fish over and over, and ate and ate some more (you can never beat mi madre's home cooking).

Photo-op with Brigham Young :) in front
of BYU's Smoot (Administration) Bldg

at the Church Headquarters in Temple Square where Carl used to report
for meetings every Thursday (He now works full week at the
Riverton Office Building as part of the mormon.org team)

Finally reaching the "Y" up at the mountain!!!
(FYI - madre has not hiked for the last 35 years)

We played :) (This actually went in and they won!)

We ate lots of these - squid, fish, and TUYO - over and over again!

Up at Alta - Papa was so stoked about "real" snow

Waiting for the dancing water show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas

Jollibee!!! Las Vegas, Nevada

MoTab Sunday for Music and the Spoken Word

Visiting the St. George Utah Temple
(we also visited Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, and of course Provo)

The night before their flight back to the Philippines, we had FHE and I couldn't say a word (actually, I didn't want to say a word 'coz I was feeling really sad and I might just end up balling). I didn't want them to leave, or maybe I was hoping if only we could fly back home with them, or maybe I was hoping if only it was easier for all of us to live closer with each other. I practically left their nest when I was 17, and I have always been comfortable being away... but this time was just different, maybe because I am just in a very critical period in my life where I want them to be very close and accessible for many wonderful reasons (like I could just visit my mom and talk to her the whole day about my worries about having children and such, or visiting for the weekend and be carefree 'coz mama and papa will make the meals and we'll just play frisbee outside and soak every bit of sunshine). I guess we never really appreciate our parents until we're grown-up and we realize how awesome it is to have someone else take care of life's complications for us. But I guess its our turn to take care of those "shoot me now" situations, because they're supposed to have raised us to be able to handle those ourselves. That was pretty much what FHE was about on the eve of their trip back home... and when we finally bid them goodbye at the SLC airport, I was balling in the car (like crazy - you can ask Carl!). Carl and I miss mama and papa a lot. See, my mom made us curtains for our living room and for our master bedroom. Mom's yellow curtains remind me to be happy everyday - and people running in the morning reminds of my dad every single time (too bad he missed the Utah Valley marathon, I bet he would have had a blast). But for now, we got to live in the right here and right now.

Our next goal is to have Mommy and Daddy (Carl's parents) to come and visit. That would be another great opportunity for all of us - with my sisters-in-law Jasmine and ate Ley having not seen them for the last 5 years (and them having not seen/met Keana and Scott, and Ricky, yet). That should be one great family reunion to look forward to!

Hello Minot, North Dakota

2011-05-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

This post might sound like we've been travelling a lot... But let me just say, as much as we like to travel and go places, we do not have bottomless pockets. This trip, almost didn't happen, for many different reasons, but we decided this one was worth taking - because there are just some things we shouldn't miss!

So we used up some of our miles to buy this trip, and we boarded a Delta flight bound to Minot, North Dakota. Where in the world is Minot? We flew out from Salt Lake City and then caught a connecting flight in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Minot is a small city, and Minot State University was a quaint little campus, pretty similar to BYU-H sans the tropics (and the sun!). We were so close to the northern border of the US, Canada was about an hour and a half drive north. In fact, we were told that North Dakota's economy gets its boost from Canadians who cross the border everyday just to shop - in fact i wouldn't doubt that at all. When we went to a nearby mall, most of the cars in the parking lot had Saskatchewan and Manitoba plates.

after the Hooding Ceremonies at
Minot State University's
Old Main Bldg
(formerly Teacher's College)

First of all, Carl earned his Masters degree in Information Systems (online program) from Minot State University, thus the trip to a city located in north central North Dakota. The reason of this trip to Minot, was in fact, Carl and my love for him. He deserved this trip - he well deserved to be there at his graduation. He worked really hard, completed his assignments, and finished his thesis - despite of occasional burn-outs from work stress and some taunting that sounded like "Cougars vs. Beavers?". I am so proud of Carl, and again, I can not emphasize enough his hard work and dedication. Go Beavers! Minot.... (drum roll)... to TOP!!!

Our Minot experience was very heart-warming. When we got there, we had a car rental reservation with Enterprise. But after some asking around locals at the airport, we decided to cancel our reservation with Enterprise. Even then, the Enterprise rep who was already at the airport to take us to the car garage to get our supposedly rental car still dropped us off at the car garage where a cab was instead waiting to take us to our motel (free of charge!). We stayed at Comfort Inn, which was very close to the mall and to some restaurants (and McDonalds of course - it actually reminded us of the McDonalds in Laie). We decided to get Chinese for dinner, but Carl ended up absolutely hating it - and thankfully McDonalds was just around the corner. We were tired from our flight - and so we hit the bed early... and soon we were out!

Carl and his graduate chair, Dr. Lory Willoughby

The following day was Carl's graduation day. We had to be there early for the hooding ceremonies. For the first time, Carl met his cohort, their professors, his graduate committee, and his mentor. We were so excited, and it was such a unique experience to watch them talk to each other in person for the first time. After the ceremonies, their Department Chair Dr. Willoughby treated the whole cohort for lunch at Badlands Grill. We were so full!!! After that, the group split because some had to drive to Bismarck to catch their flights out of North Dakota. Carl and two others who we carpooled with decided they wanted to look around campus, in fact they decided they wanted to get their school IDs! Another guy joined us later on, and they talked and talked. This third guy was a local and he talked stories about Minot and stuff.

So they started talking stories at around 2pm... an hour later, they decided to get coffee at Starbucks (of course we had hot chocolate), and another 2 hours of talking ensued. At one point I couldn't blend anymore 'coz the started talking tech stuff, so I went and read at Barnes and Nobles. But then they decided they wanted to have dinner together. We were gonna bail since our motel was already around the corner, but they insisted. So we went to this only Thai restaurant in town called Baan Rao. Carl order a very spicy dish, which he did enjoy, but regretted ordering it to a very spicy specification! It was a very heart-warming experience, and we were blessed with very hospitable and generous new friends. See, we went on this trip with a very strict budget. At the end of the trip, we only paid for our plane tickets, 3 cab rides, (discounted) motel rate, one yucky Chinese dinner, and 3 dollar burgers. And to top that, we had a very kind-hearted friend waiting to pick us up at the SLC Airport when we landed the day after.

My graduate :)

Some of Carl's MSIS cohort with Dept. Chair Dr. Willoughby
(we carpooled with the guys on the far right and 3rd from right,
and they paid for dinner too)

Carl and his new friends at the
Scandinavian Heritage Park

Our trip to Minot, North Dakota - was indeed worth taking!

My Heart's Full on Mother's Day

2011-05-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Carl and I are forever grateful for the wonderful women in our lives - our mothers.

Mom Maribel

Mama Jing

And I am deeply touched by the love I have felt from this man, who made mother's day extra special for me...

mi one and onli

SPREAD THE LOVE EVERYONE - everyday is mother's day!!!

Guess Who's Here...

2011-04-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

Mama and Papa are in town - and we are absolutely stoked!!!

Dear San Diego weather, can we take you HOME?

2011-04-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

So we headed to San Diego... for a conference (not really for fun in the sun) - but it was an amazing experience. Carl has been involved with the Clinton Global Initiative since 2007. He actually attended the very first CGI-U meeting at Tulane University in Louisiana. He's always encouraged me to apply so we could go together but I wasn't very interested at first. This year, though, I decided I'd check it out.

Clinton Global Initiative 2011, University of California-San Diego

For someone to get into the conference, one should have a commitment for action related to one of CGI's 5 causes. Carl's was poverty alleviation. I decided I wanted to do something about human rights, specifically human trafficking. Our action plans are not yet very solid, but with all the good stuff we learned from CGI-U at University of California-San Diego this year, we'll probably be able to solidify our plans and find a way to make a difference. It was a very enlightening experience, meeting young student leaders and advocates from all across America (and the world) and learning about their advocacies. It personally gave me a lot of insight about working with NGOs and empowering communities and rethinking public policy.

Packing goods at the San Diego Food Bank

Aside from learning all the good stuff, we had some perks too. We met former US President Bill Clinton, who of course, is the founder of CGI. We met and greeted with various experts in the field of urban planning and public policies, and even celebrity advocates like Mandy Moore (Ambassador, Population Service International), Drew Barrymore (Ambassador Against Hunger, UN World Food Programme), and Sean Penn (Founder/CEO, J/P Haitian Relief Organization).

beautiful Sunday sunrise overlooking the San Diego Temple

We stayed at the nearby Sheraton Hotel in La Jolla, which was very close to the San Diego Temple. On our last day in San Diego, Carl and I walked from our hotel to the temple and we felt so good. It was beautiful, magnificent to say the least. The CGI conference was held during the April General Conference weekend, and we were hoping to find time out from the conference to do a session at the Temple... but the conference schedule was so packed - day starts at 7:30 and ends at 8:30 - and we were all shuttled in from the hotel to UCSD. So on Sunday morning, we woke up extra early (like 5:30am) so we could walk to the Temple. It was an amazing sunrise! Of all the good stuff we learned from CGI, I can honestly say that being on holy ground reminded me of all the good things in my life. The temple, more than facts of humanity's need for aid and relief, reminded Carl and I how we could be instruments in the Lord's hands in making a difference in the world.

P.S. And the weather was absolutely gorgeous!!! We heard that while we were soaking lots of sunshine in Southern California, it was snowing like CRAZY in Utah... and so we were extremely glad we were somewhere else that weekend!!!

An Eventful Month of March

2011-03-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of beautiful things that happened in March...

We had birthdays, milestones, missions, baptisms, and conference posters to name a few...

March 12th was Mama's 49th birthday - yup, she doesn't look her age at all!

March 22nd was Mara's 19th birthday - this is in fact her last teenage year... :)

March 25th &26th - Yken went to the temple to receive his endowments with Mama and Papa, and it was a very spiritual one. The next day, he entered the MTC in Manila and officially started his 24-month mission. It was a very special day, our hearts are full and we all feel blessed that Yken has made the righteous decision to work on the Lord's sacred errand.

March 27th - Ricky entered the waters of baptism - FINALLY. It was a very beautiful rainy Sunday. It was an amazing feeling. Carl confirmed him the gift of the holy ghost that same day, and the spirit was so strong. It was indeed the right time. We pray that Ricky and ate Lei soon attend the temple together, and will be sealed for time and all eternity

last week of March - Carl and I (mostly I) spend a total of 54 hours at the MFHD Graduate Lab running Structural Equation models for my Mary Lou Fulton Conference project on Asian-White Intimate Relationships. I ate my breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the lab for almost 3 days, and Carl is the most awesome husband one can ever have - he brought me meals, stayed with me at the lab, and stayed up late with me...

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY KEANA LEIROSE

2011-02-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

a lovely valentine

2011-02-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

"Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred moments so dear

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year

"In daylights, in sunsets

In midnights, in cups of coffee,

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife,

In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, a year in a life

"How about love...

Measure in love...

Seasons of love..."

February 14th, 2011 - Our 5th Valentine's Day

Carl and I have many special days of love... the day we became a couple (May 15th 2006), the day we became a couple forever (August 9th 2008), and of course - Valentine's Day.

This year, we had our Valentine's date early (for practical reasons such as avoiding too many people and very long lines) - and we had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack in Sandy. Carl and I love seafood, and as much as we wanted to dine somewhere in Park City, we wouldn't trade good seafood with (expensive) fancy ambience. It was so worth it... the tunes of "eat at joe's" kept playing on Carl's head!

On V-day itself, I prepared a sort of fancy dinner for us at home... and we surprised each other with our gifts. Carl brought home a beautiful bouquet and chocolate truffles, and he also gave me a very very comfy pair of PJs and a framed plaque that says "I always keep falling in love with you!" My gift for him was a chrome watch from Fossil which I think he really liked.

We had a beautiful dinner in candle light and every time I'd bring out the next course, Carl would say, "wag na muna kasi matatapos na ang dinner pag kinain na natin." Yup - he didn't want it to end!

Valentine's Dinner Menu

Appetizer
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Baked Porcinis stuffed with crabs and cream cheese and topped with parmigiano reggiano
Salad
Baby Spinach and Cranberries with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Fresh baby spinach, dried cranberries, and almond served with tangy raspberry vinaigrette
Soup
Cheesy Broccoli Soup
Entree`
Tapas and Scallops
Beef tapas and pan-seared scallops served with greens and Spanish rice

Dessert
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It was our longest dinner so far, and one of the best we've had!

Happy Valentines day everyone - Keep spreading the love!

ELDER MALIG

2011-01-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is my big little brother, Yken

Today is his 21st Birthday!

Today, he also got his mission call...

...and he will be serving for 24 months in the PHILIPPINES BUTUAN MISSION

We love you dear brother!!! We know you've been preparing for this all your life! We are proud of you!!!

The year that was - and our New Years Roadtrip to Southern California

2011-01-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

Its quite interesting to think that we did the exact opposite for New Years 2010. We were still living then in Southern California, and we took a road trip to Las Vegas all the way to Utah. It was a very memorable one, and that road trip was very humbling. Both Carl and I were jobless and all we had were each other, and wonderful family and friends. I will never forget what our very good friend Liz said as we welcomed 2010 in flamboyant Las Vegas. She said, "2010 is going to be an awesome year!"

For many reasons, she was right. By the end of February 2010, Carl and I found ourselves packing our things and moving north to Utah - Carl was offered a job with the LDS Church Headquarters, and I was eventually admitted to BYU's graduate program. It was quite a year - and we had so many things to be grateful for. It was quite an adventure too. I had to take an emergency trip to the Philippines to renew my student visa. While I had the opportunity to spend time with family back home, Carl and I missed each others' birthdays and 2nd anniversary. When I came back, we had the opportunity to celebrate all three wonderful occasions.

The rest of the year flew by so fast... and next thing we knew, the snow has come and we were putting up our Christmas tree and Carl has learned to snowboard.

Taking the road trip to Southern California was an emotional one for me, but above and beyond that, it was a celebration of everything 2010 has blessed us with - family, friends, and countless blessings from the Lord!

STOP OVER: Circus Circus in Las Vegas, NV

DESTINATION: Disneyland in Anaheim, CA

QUICK STOP: Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, CA

A TASTE OF HOME: Jollibee in Las Vegas, NV

___oo00000oo___

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2011 IS GOING TO BE AWESOME TOO!!!

ITS CHRISTMAS MORNING

2010-12-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

This year, we got to have NOCHE BUENA twice!!!

We were at the Catubays in South Jordan with some friends for a hearty pot luck noche buena! There was an abundance of great food, and we had to be careful not get too full because we still have something for ourselves at home!

"early" Noche Buena at the Catubays in South Jordan

We were back at our humble Wymount apartment in Provo at around 10pm. We have some pizza and soda and stuff, like a midnight snack sort of noche buena part 2! we also exchanged gifts, which was really fun. I got a vanilla cinnamon scented candle from Jasmine and Carl got an emergency car kit from Scott. Carl gave Norman new bath towels, and I gave Scott a Japan Mission t-shirt. Of course, we gave little Keana a very cute sweater dress from Gymboree!!! The Milburys had to be home too, so they went ahead a little after midnight... but the rest of us watched SALT (and that movie is now on Carl's favorite movies list).

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

With love from the extended Canlas family

But our favorite part was CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!

Carl opening his humongous gift!!!

Opening the FedEx surprise :)

winter winter wonderland?

2010-12-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

Winter has officially come - which means SNOW has touched the ground. This is our first REAL winter, and we tried our best to prepare for it - sweaters and jackets and coats, and snow boots, and lots of blankets! And we had to "winterize" our car too :)

a very white courtyard

playing outside hoping not to get frozen

And while Carl is not a very big fan of the very cold weather, he found himself trying a very cold sport

learning how to snowboard!

soaking wet and almost frozen at Sundance

a glimpse of Fall

2010-11-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

We better start savoring the beautiful colors of fall before they're gone and replaced by white powdery snow!

Here's a couple of things that happened this Fall

October 2010 General Conference with Wonderful Friends from Southern California

BYU Homecoming Weekend 2010

Halloween at the Bybees

Thanksgiving with the Dixons in Brigham City

Time went by so fast, and its almost the end of the year... and so its time to put up that CHRISTMAS TREE!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

i was in the mood (and more enthusiastic than most days) to cook

2010-10-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

as you all know, i love to cook... but even though i love cooking, some days are just plain and boring in the kitchen. but last night, i was so psyched and overly enthusiastic that i decided i will make our weekend meals more interesting...

so...

last night became BURGER NIGHT...

last night i made Mushroom Burgers with Potato Fries, and instead of serving it with pickles i made Mango-Cucumber salad.

Ingredients: 1 mango (i like it when it's not quite ripe), peeled and cut into cubes; 1 cucumber, cut into cubes; 2 tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into cubes; 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped; 1/2 cup green onions, juice of 2 limes, salt and pepper. Combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. CHILL before serving!

Carl was ecstatic - and I think I heard him say "This is the best burger I ever ate!" He was actually watching a re-run of Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and they were featuring the 'best burgers"... so I hope my burger was really good and he wasn't just having a hang over what he just watched. :) Sorry we didn't get the chance to take a photo of my burger and fries... i guess you've already figured out why...

It was quite time consuming to create our Burger Night, because I made my own beef patties and cut my own fries... but I guess that's what makes home-cooked feasts really yummy - all the love and the time that goes into the food!

So my awesome mood was carried over through today, and for dinner tonight i made Bacon-Wrapped Scallops with Honey-Lime Sauce, Garlic Roasted Asparagus, and (Fake-out) Java Rice.

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops: Wrap each scallop with a strip of bacon (secure it with toothpick if you want), season with salt and pepper, and sear both sides in butter, then continue cooking in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Honey-Lime Sauce: Whisk together 2 tbsp honey, juice of 3 limes, 1 tbsp. pineapple juice, 2 tbsp. water. and 2 tbsp. sugar. Cook over medium heat and stir until thick. Serve drizzled over scallops!

Garlic-Roasted Asparagus: Cut the tough ends of the asparagus, wash and pat dry, then arrange in a baking sheet. Mix coarsely chopped garlic, scallop/bacon grease, and salt and pepper together and drizzle over asparagus. Broil in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

(Fake-out) Java Rice: Saute onion, garlic, and chopped ham in butter. Add cooked rice, ketchup and soy sauce. Season with pepper. Cook until fluffy. Serve warm.

I am a HUGE scallop fan, and today Carl said, "Ok lets go grab some of your scallops from Costco!" When he said that, my eyes just went 5 times bigger than normal!!! Ha Ha Ha! (I am literally laughing at myself right now, because I didn't care if Costco's scallops were not really the ideal kind that I'd prefer, I just want some scallops, period).

I just have to say that we had a really hearty dinner. Try it sometimes, food doesn't have to fancy. Its the effort that matters most :)

HAPPY MONTHSARY

2010-10-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

To my one and only JV,

I can honestly say that I have made the greatest decision ever, in spending eternity with you.

Thank you for just being there, 24/7. Look forward.

I love you.

Carl

our little cougarette

2010-09-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

carl and i are in love with this little angel

last saturday, we watched the BYU Cougars' football game against the Nevada Wolf Pack with Jasmine, Scott, and our super duper cute niece Keana.

it wasn't a win game, but it didn't matter. in fact, all i cared about was Keana's cheerleader outfit! I wish she grows her hair already so we can put bows and headbands and all the pretty girly stuff on her!

oh Keana, you are such an angel!!!

XD means interaction designer, CISCO is a fish, and MOSTLY STRAIGHT is a sexual orientation

2010-09-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

breathing deeply...

so here's how our study table looks like...

Carl sits on the yellow chair, and those papers under the table are mine

carl and i sit on opposite ends on of the table... i do my thing and he does his, and sometimes...we sometimes take our deep breaths together without doing it on purpose... he usually says... its like being in the middle of deep water - we stop and get some air from above the surface, and then we dive again...

and tonight is one of those very rare weeknights when i get to stay above the surface for a little longer, because:

1. i have no class tomorrow and i have no homework due on a friday, and

2. i decided that i'll be spending my friday in the middle of deep water - so i can appreciate our WEEKEND (yup, rather be knee deep on homework and readings on a friday than drag myself through the weekend thinking about how to catch up on a sunday afternoon).

so anyway... its been 3 weeks since Graduate School Day 1 (at least for me)... for Carl, its been almost 7 weeks. here's a glimpse of how my USUAL WEEK looks like... I'm not including Carl's version of this calendar because I don't want to traumatize anyone, because his planner has actually lost its lines and boxes already...

yup, and that's just the first couple of weeks

It's been a pretty interesting couple of weeks though, and Carl and I are both slowly getting the new routine. We're enjoying our own little apartment here in Provo, and our new ward (family student ward, that is) is full of little kids. Our laundrymat is open 24 hours except on sundays, we have a huge "christmas tree" (as carl refers to it) in front of our balcony, Carl carpools to Riverton everyday, and I walk about 3 miles to and from school each day (about 1.5 miles each way). I am reunited with Food Network and life is a lot better after a long day in school and you come home and you GULP super cold water while you watch Giada de Laurentiis cook a frittata.

We are both enjoying graduate school. We've been borrowing books from the campus library, and I think its pretty cool that I can loan a book for 3 months. Here's a couple of interesting things we've been learning from each other lately through our individual classes:

1. The amount of money Lowe's make annually is equal to the amount of money Walmart makes in 3 months.

2.Walmart's supplier's delivery trucks have a 10 minute interval... no two trucks can unload at the same time.

3. XD means interaction designer

4. Read a book, interpret what was written, then cite the authors - NO EXCEPTIONS

5. On IT management processes: You can solve problems as many times as you want, but you might miss an opportunity to capitalize

6. CISCO is actually a kind of FISH.

7. Research methods is not as intimidating as it sounds... and a patient mentor makes a lot of difference.

8. Structural functionalism has been considered a dead theory, but its ghost is ever so present in the current social theory paradigms.

9. Families are so complex - so deal with it.

10. Research suggests that its better for couples to confront each other's issues than to keep their mouths shut - because in so doing they learn how to deal with confrontations with their teenagers' issues later... that is if their relationship is strong enough to last despite of the confrontations until their kids become teenagers. WE FIGHT, WE LEARN, WE MOVE ON.

11. On Filipino's being Asians: Some institutions actually debate whether Filipinos should be categorized as Asians on grounds of language and cultural processes. (Example, on one of my classes, our professor said..."this is the first time I've taught this class with no Asians {then looking at me], oh wait, do you consider yourself Asian? [and I said yes]... Oh well, don't you speak like what languages? and then the Spanish...and, anyway... [moving on].

12. A sexual orientation called "mostly straight" actually exist. Sexuality is fluid, whether you accept this or not is your own free will and choice.

so there you go...

and oh, we bought a scrabble and Carl's been winning because he keeps getting seven tiles that he can use at one time which gives him 50 bonus points...

until i find time to write again :)

BACK IN EACH OTHER'S ARMS - THE SECOND HONEYMOON

2010-08-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

this post won't have much words...

because, I am not spilling the beans...

instead, I'll let the pictures help you figure out

the effect of six weeks of separation

thanks Hilton Garden Inn for the accommodations!

IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY AWESOME WEEKEND!!!

ps. Carl is the best husband one can ever wish for!!! love you Hon!

THE WHOLE SIX WEEKS

2010-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

This blog update is extra special... and will be sort of extra long... i hope you can bear with us. As most of you know, I took an emergency trip to the Philippines and had to stay there for about six weeks. You must have read my post early in July which I wrote while at the San Francisco Airport wait for my connecting flight via Philippine Airlines.This post will basically give details of those six weeks in the Philippines, mostly from my point of view... and then the two weeks that followed after my arrival in Salt Lake City...

THE HOMELAND
Mama and Papa and Carl's parent's met me at the airport and we spent the whole morning in Paranaque. Ezra was overjoyed to have his Thomas the Train toy and Esther absolutely loved her little stuffie! Later that day I took the 6-hour bus trip with Mama and Papa back to La Union. I can honestly say I was still out of my head... of course I was extremely glad that I was home...but my mind kept wondering and worrying about my visa interview...because if worse come to worst...my 6-week vacation can become 6 years or more. I spent 2 days in La Union visiting family and friends, especially my sister whose been staying in Baguio City attending school. And then it was time to face the music at the US Embassy.

THE GATEWAY TO AMERICA

We were there really early. Mama, Papa, and I - just like the first time. It was sort of a deja vu... except that I know it will be harder for me to bear the consequences of any unpleasant outcome this time. I was inside the embassy for probably 4 hours, and I only spent more or less 5 minutes explaining my reasons why I should be granted a new student visa. I honestly thought the consul was going to deny my application. At the back of my mind, I was praying, Amen after Amen...I was asking Heavenly Father to please, more than anything, reunite me with Carl. And then the answer was YES. I can almost hear Carl whisper, "Welcome Home."

THE VACATION
I spent a week with my new extended family. I truly enjoyed cooking for them - from Garlic Shrimp to my Lumpiang Shanghai! Ezra and Esther were the perfect playmates... and I love love love them to pieces. Ate Ruth and I took them to the mall and we all had a blast as the two little munchkins joined other kids participate at a kid's show mall tour. Being shy certainly doesn't run in the Canlas' blood - that's for sure. Mom took me to Divisoria for some budget friendly shopping... and with Dad they showed me their house where Carl spent most of his younger days... I should have taken a picture of it, but I was so overwhelmed I forgot all about it - but that particular house of theirs has the Laie Hawaii Temple engraved on its main door. I also met up with some of my college girlfriends including Carl's cousin Ann. For me the highlight of my whole stay with Carl's family was Carl's birthday - Mom and I went to the Manila Philippines Temple together.

Ate Ruth and her babies, Ezra and Esther, at SM Bicutan

UP Baguio Girls - Love (UPB Econ '04, Davao Mission bound),

En (UPB Econ '03, career woman looking for Mr. R)

JV (UPB SocAn '03, happily married), and

Ann (UPB Comm '04, Baguio Mission bound)

Mom and I at the Manila Philippines Temple on Carl's birthday

FAMILY and FRIENDS
A day after I got my passport/visa in the mail. Papa picked me up in Manila. During the 4 weeks that followed, I was able to spend some quality time with my family. On my first weekend, I actually went out with my High School friends and we visited our good friend's grave who died from bacterial meningitis in 2008. I also went out on a date with my big little brother and watched a movie, and I also attended his first baptism ever. Papa took us out and we had a feast at Shakey's. I met up with my good friend Angela in Baguio and had a great lunch at VOCAS with ate Chona. Angela was also leaving the Philippines for graduate school... she'll be attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a Fulbright Scholarship. I know.. its great to have friends as smart as Angela! Mama and I also went to Baguio a couple of times, mostly to do some shopping at the famous Ukay-Ukay. On a normal day though, I was just at home, with Lola and two little kindergarteners who make life interesting for everyone - Ydian and Ylyzza. Carl and I talk at least twice a day. I spent a lot of time talking stories with my lola... she has lots and lots of stories... and I can never have enough :)

DMMMSU-MLUC High School batch 2003, Archie, Gizzele, Jv,

Rutchelle, Joana, Arvin, and Daryll, visiting our dear friend Elaine

Ylyzza and Ydian: BATH TIME PINOY STYLE!

Yken's first baptism... many more to come :)

THE WEIGHT..THE FOOD... AND ALL OTHER REASONS.
I know... I gained 25 lbs over the last 4 years. And everyone seemed to notice... And almost everyone told me I should lose weight so I can get pregnant. In reality, its like the other way around... this whole weight gain is an effect, not a cause, of a medical condition I didn't know I have ... it's called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Because of PCOS, conceiving will be a challenge for Carl and I... it won't be impossible, but it will take a while (and some medical intervention). And according to my OB-GYN, one of my condition's side effect is weight gain. So there... everytime some one said I've gotten HUGE, I just dismissed it... knowing that its not entirely my fault... and so I continued to eat like I usually do. HAHAHA! I ate A LOT of veggies and fruits - ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES STYLE! Can't beat that!

THE BIRTHDAY and THE ANNIVERSARY
I received a birthday card and an anniversary card from my only love Carl. Can't ask for more... My family organized a simple gathering for me - to celebrate my birthday and Carl and mine's 2nd anniversary... and for many more reasons close to the heart. We all had a great time catching up, realizing how kids have grown up so fast, and seeing what the future has promised to all of us. Families are awesome - no matter what size and shape they come in. I am ever glad to have a family like mine. I wish Carl was there.. I know how much he wished he could. Friends from my home ward also came, and my very good friend Joreen came down all the way from Manila to spend time with me over the weekend. It was good...and it felt great to be 24!

THE MOST NEEDED TIME FAMILY TIME
A couple of days before I had to leave for the US, we had to be in Manila to pick up my aunt's family from the airport. We visited our family in Pampanga on our way to Manila.Tita Jen's family arrives from Texas a day before my flight. and we spent some time with them in Subic before driving back to the airport for my flight.. We had a blast at Zoobic Safari in Subic, feeding tigers and all that fun stuff. We stayed at the Grand Seas Resort in Olongapo, and enjoyed their pool's cool water and their yummy breakfast. We had a late lunch at Gerry's Grill with the super uncle in the world, Chammy. It has been a while since our family was able to have a "get-away." We were always a busy family, and we usually don't go very far. My aunt's family was so nice to include us in their budget ;) Seriously, the last family trip we probably had was 10 years ago... It was really heartwarming, and again, I was wishing Carl was with us...

the fam with Lolo Tinong

with Tita Jen's family and our new Aeta friends

family of five

feeding the tigers in front of your freakin' eyes! papa almost needed to take his meds!

the wonder kids - awesome awesome night swimming

at Grand Seas Hotel in Olongapo (thanks to our sponsors!)

TIME TO LEAVE
After an exhilarating day at Zoobic Safari, we scrambled to get back to our hotel and get ready to leave for Manila. The trip from Olongapo to Manila was about 3 to 4 hours, plus traffic because it was a Friday. We left Olongapo at around 3:30 in the afternoon, and you bet we got caught in traffic. My flight was at 10, we arrived at the airport at 15 till 8. Awesome. Carl's dad was there with more stuff for us. And then, in a whirlwind, I was inside and checking-in my bags. Mama and Papa, oh yes those two were teary eyed, as they always are. After i checked-in my stuff, I went out again to spend a couple more minutes with them since I still have time. Papa wasn't able to give me a blessing, so he just lead us in a family prayer. It is going to quite a while before we will become a family of five again. Later this year, Yken will be leaving for his mission... so lets say, the next reunion for this awesome family will not be until 2 years from now... and yeah, Papa felt awkward to give his big baby girl a hug, not because he's not affectionately expressive, but because he doesn't want to cry...

one last time... before five becomes three (for the next two years)

UP IN THE AIR
There's nothing much to say about my flight back to the US except for the fact that I was afraid my flight was gonna be cancelled because of the airline's issues with its staff and crew. Seems like international flights weren't as affected as the domestic ones... And so, every couple thousand miles, my heart felt closer to my one eternal love... Carl.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY ONE AND ONLY

2010-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

ISANG MALIGAYANG KAARAWAN SA AKING

MAHAL NA ASAWA!

#24

Jerevie,

I have always loved you, and i will always love you. I was

thinking of you, seeing your face in my mind , every

second that i was away. When i told you i didn't want

you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy.

- Carl Lorenz

(ang totoo ninakaw lang ni edward ang linya na yan sa kin! haha)

It Has Been Two Wonderful Years

2010-08-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 2nd ANNIVERSARY!!!

Wedding Day, August 9, 2008 at Laie Hawaii Temple (photo taken @ Hukilau Beach)

First Christmas, TVA Laie, HI, December 2008

Sunny Hawaiian Holiday along Laie Bay, February 2009

Carl's Graduation, BYU-Hawaii, June 2009

Trip to Kona for Jasmine's Wedding, June 9, 2009

The Pike at Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, CA, July 2009

1st Year Anniversary, August 9, 2009 @ Los Angeles Temple Grounds

Serramonte Ward (Daly City, CA) Christnas Party, December 2009

Disneyland, Christmas 2009

Las Vegas, New Year's Eve 2010

with Bishop Fisher of Lakewood 3rd Ward (Lakewood CA), Ferbruary 2010

Easter Weekend in Moab, UT, April 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE

2010-07-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

Happy 26th Birthday Carl!!!!

When I get back, we'll do something awesome... but for now, I hope you enjoyed your Wolverine Cake :)

I love you very much!!!

(at least) 6 weeks of separation

2010-07-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today I sit at the San Francisco International Airport waiting for my 10pm flight to the Philippines via Philippine Airlines while Carl is in Draper, Utah probably taking a nap so he won't have to think about me being away.

The last three weeks had been a whirlwind of unexpected complicated situations, though most of them are not essentially bad. On June 15th, we put down our deposit for the apartment we were going to rent beginning July 1st. The day after, BYU informed me that they were ready to reopen my graduate school application which has been pending since March. Carl had a feeling I will get in. We decided to call our future landlord and requested a refund of our deposit because there is a possibility that we won't be able to commit to a 1-year contract. Our landlord agreed and the check was voided. The following day, I was informed that I was admitted to the BYU Graduate Program. In the fifteen days that followed, Carl and I were endlessly brainstorming - we did hope for this to come, but we did not expect for this to happen at this point in time. We had exactly 8 weeks to figure out how to work things out.

Our challenges ranged from how to pay 50% of graduate school's cost of attendance to how am I going to get the legal documents that will allow me to study in America. We also had to deal with the issues of my passport, which up until last Thursday, had my maiden name on it. We also had to make sure the validity of it met the requirements for the new visa status I am currently seeking. It was a battle. We eventually had to take a trip to San Francisco last Thursday to apply for my new passport. Once there, we were greeted by more complications. The standard 15-minute passport application lasted for almost 6 hours. Through some sort of Divine intervention, a couple of consulate representatives were able to assist us in resolving my passport issues - the validity was extended for 2 more years, my name was amended, and I was good to go.

At one point in this complication, I had a feeling I would have to make a trip to the Philippines to settle all these things. It was not a very welcome idea. A trip to the Philippines, though always in our plans, was not on our budget list this year. After consulting with BYU Admissions office, Carl and I decided that I really had to take the trip home. The process of changing my current visa status to a student visa will take approximately 8 - 9 months, according to BYU International Admissions. If I go home, my current visa will be terminated and I can apply and schedule for a visa interview with the US Embassy in Manila. IF all goes well, the process will only take about 3 weeks - which means I will be able to come back to the US in time for Fall semester and I can start my Masters program in Marriage, Family and Human Development... and of course, most importantly, I can be with Carl.

The last 15 days of June were certainly miraculous. Carl and I literally saw how our prayers were answered each day as we plead for guidance on how to work out this situation. We went to the temple on Thursday night and poured our hearts to the Lord, pleading to Him, asking Him to bless us in our plans. Our main concern is that if the US Consul at the Embassy decides that I do not qualify for a student visa, I will not be able to re-enter the US...and Carl and I will have to live separately for a while... I don't want to think about that right now.

As Carl and I drove to the airport in Salt Lake City this morning, he asked me what was going on in my head because I looked like I was thinking about so many thing at one time. He was right. In fact, I can't even fully look forward to spending good times with my family and friends in the Philippines because all I can think about right now is the visa interview on Thursday. Maybe after I pass through that hurdle, I can totally enjoy the fact that I have an opportunity to spend quality time with Carl and mine's families.

The past three Thursdays all gave me good news. Thursday June 17th, BYU informed me that I got accepted into their graduate program. Thursday June 24th, I received all the documents that I need for my passport and for my visa. Thursday July 1st, we went to temple and we were comforted and inspired and we were able to commune with the Lord and poured our hearts' desires and lifted our most sincere prayers to Him, leaving our circumstances in His holy hands. Next Thursday July 8th, I will be interviewed for a student visa at the US Embassy in Manila.Carl and I leave my fate to the Lord.

This will be the longest time Carl and I are separated since we got married. To make things worse, we will not be able to spend his birthday, our 2nd anniversary, and my birthday together. Before I boarded this morning, I told Carl that compared to the first time I went home to the Philippines when we were still dating, I actually feel more comforted right now - because whether I can come back to the US or not, it doesn't change the fact that I am his and he is mine. It will be sad, but it will all be fine.

Today is the first day of the longest 6 weeks of my life....

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

2010-06-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Oh dad we'd be glad if we could come home

Glad as we can be;

Clap our hands and shout for joy,

Then climb up on your knee,

Put our arms around your neck,

Hug you tight like this,

Pat your cheeks, then give you what?

A great big kiss.

Good Things to Come

2010-06-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Carl shared this video with me tonight, and the only reaction I was able to give were tears from a soul that was touched by a very timely message of hope.

Many times, when it seems impossible to see beyond our seemingly hopeless circumstances, despair wins and we give up. However, as Elder Jeffrey Holland said,

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.

Some blessings come soon, some late, some don't come until heaven.

But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.

It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

I can not find words to add on to how Elder Holland promises blessings to those who endure to the end and keep the faith. Surely, the Lord knows the desires of our hearts...and in his due time, we shall receive the choicest blessings he has in store for us.

Our Niece's Baby Blessing

2010-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today was our niece's baby blessing. Her dad gave her a beautiful blessing and it was a very touching moment at sacrament meeting. The whole Milbury family (with the exception of one who lives out in California) attended our ward today. Mom Maren and Dad Gary Dixon, Paul and Ligaya Kuiken, the Catubays, and the Hamptons were also there to witness the joyous occasion.

Uncle Carl and Auntie JV, get dressed already!!! We will be late for church!!!

Mommy Jasmine and Baby Keana

Baby Keana with Aunt Jill, Grandma Pat, and Daddy Scott

After church, we all had a little get together at the Milbury's - and Keana had a good time. Good food and good friends always make a happy occasion. Jasmine's mom-in-law Pat and Scott's sister Jill made spaghetti, home-made bread-sticks, tossed green salad, and pineapple punch. Carl and I prepared the Lumpia and Mini Hotdogs for hors'oeuvres.

The Catubays, the Hamptons, and the newly wed Kuiken couple celebrating with Baby Keana

"FRESH" discovery

2010-06-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Carl and I just had dinner at Cafe Zupas in Draper. They serve gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. Carl and I like to eat, but we like doing so not because we're gluttons but because we just have a passion for food - Carl likes good food and I like to cook. So anyway, we did enjoy our lovely dinner at Zupas. Who wouldn't enjoy a dinner out without spending a dime?

Yes, we spent zero dollars at Zupas! Carl used his frequent buyer points card (he had two) in exchange for our meal. If you want to know how Carl earned his points, ask Carl :) We really enjoyed our food. Carl had Lobster Bisque and Boston Crab Melt Panini while I had Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo and Shanghai Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing. For dessert, we had Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries.

Boston Crab Melt

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

Anyway, we highly recommend Zupas. They only operate in Utah and they have seven locations in the state. They have really good soups and fresh greens for their salads! Eat healthy, Dine at Zupas!!!!

the latest dish :)

2010-05-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

We were kind of slow with blogging this month, and we have really good reasons... which means, there's a lot to share on this post. The stories do pile up... so its time to dish them out.

Carl's been pretty serious studying for his his PMP certification.Its a credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to certified individuals in the project management field. Carl started working for the LDS Church as an IT Project Coordinator in March, and being a certified PMP will surely add to his working knowledge in the field. He spent a lot of hours studying, sometimes until he'd "hit the wall" - meaning he's had information overload and will soon crash down. It all paid off though because he passed the exam when he took it on the 21st. Carl is now a certified Project Management Professional... in fact, the first thing he did after passing the exam was order business cards with his name printed as Carl Lorenz M. Canlas, PMP.

Carl's STUDY WALL

On the other hand, I have been pre-occupied as well. Aside from studying for the TOEFL (which BYU is requiring me to take before they reconsider my application for graduate school...I took the test on the 22nd), I've been spending at least 25 hours each week at the LDS Employment Resource Services in Riverton as a Service Missionary. It is a wonderful opportunity to come to work everyday and be of help to our brothers and sisters in their efforts to become more self reliant. With my current "non-eligible to work" status due to the stipulations of my visa, I realized (with a lot of Carl's help) that if I can not work even when I would have been offered one, I will do my best to help others find something for themselves. So every week from Monday to Thursday, I go to the Riverton Office Building wearing my missionary badge and doing the Lord's work.

Yes, people stare when they see me having lunch with Carl.

___

Leisure wise, Carl and I have been pretty absorbed into other stuff too!

We've become fans of Dancing with the Stars Season 10...and we both think Evan Lysacek is really good. Though we now know that he lost to Nicole Scherzinger, I still like him a lot!

Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya's Paso Doble is our ultimate favorite routine

Of course, its NBA Playoffs time! Carl and I are hard core Laker fans - because Carl thinks they are amazing, and I love Kobe Bryant. We were so ecstatic when they defeated Utah Jazz, and we didn't care if we now live in Jazz town. (Thanks to Louie Liad for hosting Game 4). We are now hoping they beat the crap out of Phoenix Suns.

Oh, and because Carl is now a certified PMP, he took me to Outback Stakehouse for dinner on the 22nd. We were so full - fuller than when we ate at Makinochaya in Honolulu or Hokkaido in Long Beach (and those two are buffets). Their Blooming Onion is way better than fries, and their signature steak melts in your mouth. The best thing about dining at Outback that night was we only paid half of our bill. Carl received a $25 Outback gift card from work... because he's been so good with his job!

Did I mention we can have a free Blooming Onion on our next visit?

A couple of other fun stuff, we enjoyed a couple of fun Mario Wii games with Micah and Shey when they invited us over for lunch last Saturday... and Micah taught me a really cool African board game similar to the Filipino Sungka. Also, Carl and I are TRYING to be SEMI-VEGETARIANS...that is, less meat diet. Speaking of "vegetarians," we've purchased our tickets for Twilight Saga: Eclipse which opens in theaters on June 30th... and like Carl promised, we'll be watching Eclipse - IMAX!

_____

We've been tremendously blessed by our Heavenly Father. We've literally seen the Lord's hands in our daily challenges. A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Jordan River Temple to feel closer to God's presence and offered Him our deepest love and appreciation for all that He has done for us. It also feels good to attend the temple with Carl because, even though I attend the Salt Lake City temple almost every Thursday by myself, spending a quiet moment together in the Celestial room is whole different spiritual experience.

everyday should be mother's day :)

2010-05-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

The women in our lives - the beautiful, hard working, selfless, loving women in our lives - certainly deserve a day just for them. It feels really good for women to be appreciated, for all that they do and how they do them. Carl and I are certainly very grateful for the women in our live, most especially our mothers.

We both truly miss our moms, and God knows how much we'd love to be with them. We love them so much, and our heart is full of gratitude for all that they have done for us. They have taught us good things, and they will remain with us for good. We owe our mothers the eternal companion that we have found in each other... We love them with all our hearts!

I am indeed lucky to be the woman in Carl's life. With that as a premise, I'd really love to celebrate mother's day, everyday! For mother's day, my BIG BABY treated me with a surprise day spa at a cute little salon in Sandy. As I opened the car after church, a bouquet of beautiful red roses was waiting for me. Later that day, we watched Iron Man 2 at Jordan Commons. I really felt pampered on Mother's day.

I was also very touched by the mother's day greetings I received from our friends. Though I truly believe that we are all mothers in our own special ways, I still feel that having a child I can call my own will add meaning to the essence of motherhood that I have in my heart. God knows how much I love children, and nurturing and taking care of others... and having a child of my own flesh and blood takes that love to the next level. I know I will have my own someday, when the Lord decides it is time to bless me and Carl with a beautiful child. For now, I am content with the vicarious mothering opportunities the Lord has given me... besides, I have my BIG BABY to give hugs and kisses to every single day.

This Week's Recipe

2010-04-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

Announcement!!! Announcement!!! This is CARL!

Some of you, our dear friends, know that my wife is awesome in the kitchen! If you've ever been to our apartment in TVA when we were still in BYU-Hawaii, you've probably tasted some of her delicious labor of love!

In line with sharing, JV has added a page in our blog where she weekly features what she's done special in the kitchen. By just clicking on each featured food's name, you will be directed to a site where she posts some of her recipes.

This week's featured recipe is her version of LUMPIANG SHANGHAI. Check it out!

By the way, each featured recipe is posted on our blog for a week, and then she replaces it with a different one the week after. So you probably should visit her food blog too!

Friends + Food = Fun

2010-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Since we've moved to Utah, Carl and I haven't gotten the time to visit and hang-out with friends. We usually spend our weekends doing errands. The only times we had "friend-time" was when we slept over at Jared's (Carl's BYUH room mate) after the New Moon party back in March, and when we attended Music and the Spoken Word couple of weeks ago.

So, Carl and I had a really good time last Saturday when we got the chance to get together with friends and had a potluck at the Catubay's in Daybreak. It was just the perfect timing because friends from Hawaii are either visiting or moving here, just like us. Thanks to Shey's reminder that "we need to hang-out," Jenneth's potluck idea, and ate Lally's warm accommodations - last Saturday's get together was so much fun!

Everyone brought food, and at the end of the night, all the food was almost gone. I guess when someone announces its Videoke time, we all forget there's some more food left!

Thanks everyone for bringing good food and sharing good laughs! Hope we can do it again sometime :)

time to chop that hair

2010-04-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Carl has asked me several times in the past couple of months if I wanted to cut my hair already...and I always had two reasons why it wasn't time to cut it. First, a haircut is not my priority. Second, I need the length to cover my nape during the winter season so i didn't have to buy a scarf. And plus, I like my hair long. The third one wasn't a reason, its just me stating a fact.

But like anything in this world, there comes a point when its just too much - and yeah, I finally figured my hair got much longer than is convenient. So last Saturday, I bid goodbye to probably 8 inches of hair. The hairdresser actually asked me maybe 3 or 4 times if I was sure I wanted to cut that much... and I, without blinking, said YES, CHOP IT.

It was my freshman year in high school when I last allowed myself to grow my hair too long, and I remember having to braid it almost everyday just so it would look neat on my face. So when I started resorting to braiding my hair whenever I don't have enough time to fix it - that was it.

My last visit to the hair salon was on Thanksgiving 2008...and after 17 months, I guess it's about time.

And by the way, I kept the hair that she cut... maybe i'll try to beat my own record!

608 Days, a Postcard and a Cake

2010-04-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Carl and I have been married for 608 days now. Since the day we've been married, we've lived in 3 states, stayed in 4 houses, and bought a $2000 car. Its been a total adventure - we've had our ups and downs, but somehow through each other's strength and with the Lord's grace, we always pull through.

If I had to go through those 20 months by myself, I might have gone crazy every other 2 months. Haha!! Seriously, the not-so-good times were a lot better because I had Carl. Well, for Carl, he always tells me I'm patient and supportive and amazing... I don't feel like I measure up sometimes... but I do the best I can to be a better wife everyday.

As a gift to Carl, I baked and decorated a cake for him. I am very proud of this cake because it's the first time I am making its kind. I baked the cake and made the fondant last Tuesday. I stored them in the freezer, and worked on it yesterday. It took me maybe 4 hours to finish the whole thing, even though its pretty small. I stored it in the fridge after, even though I know I'm not supposed to - condensation inside the fridge is supposed to make the fondant wet, because I had to keep it from Carl. I intended for it to be a surprise, and Carl was not allowed to open the fridge.

Check out my kitchen to learn more about how I made my 1st fondant cake :)

So anyway, when it was time for Carl to see the cake, he almost didn't want to eat it...he said its too pretty! Well, that's Carl - he always makes me feel good about the things I make. We ate some anyway!!!

He bought me a little postcard of the Laie Hawaii Temple, our special temple. Hawaii is our special place - where it all began 4 years ago. Tomorrow, we'll attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan to celebrate the spiritual essence of our marriage.

It has been an amazing 20 months - and I won't trade anything for the laughs and tears that had been. I love my husband, and I know he loves me - and that makes life great!

Awesome Moab Weekend!!!

2010-04-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

Our Easter Weekend was definitely awesome!!!

This year, we were invited by Mom and Dad Dixon to join their annual family camping trip to Moab. Carl and I were so excited because we've had the thought of going on a camping trip since last summer when we were still living in California.

So last Friday, Klisty and her sons picked us up and we all drove up to Moab.We had tons of fun!!! And that's because Carl and I did something we've never tried before. We enjoyed it a lot, and we were so glad that the weather was very cooperative.

When we hiked on Saturday, it was the perfect weather to be in the great outdoors. I was physically challenged on some spots during the hike - as I realized how my short legs can not quite reach when I try to pass through. We were so beat and tired, but we enjoyed the thrill and the view of Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park. It was stunningly beautiful out there!!!

Carl was thrilled to drive Brady's Jeep, though I freaked out when I thought Carl panicked. Carl also tried mountain biking with Dad Gary at Slick Rock.

We also watched as Jeeps and trucks fall in line at Potato Salad Hill and ascend one by one up the boulders.

On Easter morning, we watched the kids paint their eggs, and later on rolled them on the hill.

It was such a fun weekend!!!

the baby that makes everybody happy

2010-03-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

I should have written something about this little princess couple of weeks ago... but well, I waited until her momma took enough baby pictures of her :)

This is our family's newest little princess, Keana Leirose. She is now 6 weeks old... and she's getting prettier and prettier everyday.

Carl and I love watching and playing with her while momma Jasmine is busy doing something or taking a break.

We are content with her while we're waiting for our own, who will come when Heavenly Father decides we've had enough vicarious parenting experience and its time for us to do the real thing.

We love Keana!!!

We're Proud of Our Brothers

2010-03-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

Carl and I are very proud siblings of these two very smart boys..

Carl's youngest brother James graduated Valedictorian from St. Leonard Academy in Paranaque. He was also awarded Best in Math. James will be attending college at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines come June, and he will be majoring in computer science. Way to go James!!! Kuya Carl and I are very proud of you!

My younger brother Jave Yken graduated among the top of his class and received his Bachelor's degree in Nursing from Easter Colleges in Baguio City. He was also given a Varsity award for playing in the school's basketball team.

Yken will start his review classes this April in preparation for the Nursing Licensure Exam in July. While doing so, he is also processing his mission papers and is preparing to leave right after he takes his boards.

Carl and I are very proud of our brothers. They have both studied very diligently and they were blessed for their hard work.

Congratulations James and we hope you have fun in college!

To Yken, we wish you all the best and we welcome you to the bigger world!!!

We love you both!!!

Date Night and Twilight

2010-03-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

My awesome husband Carl surprised me last week when he came home from work. After he left the office, he dropped by the Walmart Supercenter to get an oil change for our car. When he got home, he asked me, "do you want to go to a Twilight Party this Saturday?" More than surprised, I was intrigued. Carl understands my enthusiasm with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, in fact he gifted me with the books for Christmas. So, anyway, I thought he was joking because I had just been reading the books again for he nth time. But he was serious...because Twilight Saga cast members were making an appearance at the Riverton Walmart for the Midnight Release of the Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD.

So Friday was date night - he was so patient with me, and he endured all the girlish cheesiness of the fans. I guess he was surprised too, to see young girls, young ladies, young moms, old moms, and SOME boys at the party! LOL. The cast members came out at about past 10pm and they sent the crowd screaming in excitement. Christian Serratos (Angela Weber), Michael Welch (Mike Newton), and Justin Chon (Eric Yorkie), who played Bella's high school friends in the movie, were there to sign New Moon DVDs for the first 300 fans. Too bad, we were probably the 3000th fan to get there...with all those Twilight moms and their daughters already lined up since lunch time, I would still be the 1000th fan to arrive even if I came at 3pm.

But anyway, Carl completed my Twilight DVDs so far... and he watched them with me. He'd actually grown an appreciation for it after he saw how the movie was made - from conceptualization down to post-production. He actually said, we might probably see Eclipse at an IMAX Theatre!!! I am so excited for June 30th!!

I love you Hon - Twilight or no Twilight!!! :)

when it rains, it pours

2010-03-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

FEBRUARY 2010

While Carl was out of a job, he sent out countless resumes to prospective employers. When he accepted the job offer from Silla Automitive, he was still waiting for word from 2 other companies. One was a healthcare company in Los Angeles, and the other one was from The Corporation of the President, LDS Church. The latter one was a one-year internship that has promising IT training for Carl, but something that would require us to move to Riverton, Utah. On his 1^st week with Silla, Carl received a call from the Church Headquarters asking him when he will be available for a video conference interview. What's gonna happen after that interview was something we would have never expected after all that we've been through.

One night, after we've said our prayers, Carl asked me... “are you ready to move to Utah?” I thought at first he was talking about my application to BYU Graduate School. It didn't quite sink in to me that he was referring to his internship with the church. I was speechless there lying in our bed. He began by telling me how they asked him to start by April 15^th or earlier. It hasn't been a month yet since he started with Silla, and he's just about to quit...and we have a month and a half to pack up. Our kind of good rain pour has literally started...especially because Carl received a request from his future boss for him to start as early as March 1^st. Now we had barely 3 weeks to pack up and move 700 miles north of California.

We spent Valentine's weekend with friends. We watched Valentine's Day on the 13^th in Glendale, with Aprilon, Mhar and Liezel and later had dinner at Pho Citi. Mhar and Liezel stayed for the night. It was kind of our last couple of weeks together. They went to church with us, and later went on their own Valentine's day date at Kincaid. Carl and I on the other hand, bought a bouquet of flowers for Joyce. I received a gorgeous bouquet too, and we had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast earlier that day. Carl and I had dinner at Hokkaido's Seafood Buffet in Long Beach. It was awesome – better than Honolulu's Makino Chaya. Carl bought me a silver necklace for Valentine's. This was way better than last years...

A week later, Lui visited us from Salt Lake and Mhar came down again to interview for Carl's position with Silla. It was our last weekend in California. Almost all our friends from SoCal got together that weekend – to see Lui, to welcome Mhar to SoCal, and to send us off to Utah. We had dinner at Hokkaido's on Friday night, on Saturday night ate dinner at Home Town Buffet and later hit Santa Monica and walked down 3^rd Street Promenade and watched Leo DiCaprio's Shutter Island. It was another good weekend. It would have been nicer if the Pascuals were able to join us, but they were busy with getting into their new home (which was another good thing to celebrate actually!).

The week that followed was all excited, sad, rushed, but glad. We finished packing the rest of our stuff. Our bed was donated to a new family in the ward. I said goodbye to my kids Brent, Chase, and Kaylie. We had family dinner with Joyce, Jen and her kids, the missionaries, and Lei and Ricky. Jasmine gave birth to a healthy 6.9-pound baby Keana Leirose and will be home from the hospital when we arrive later that week. Carl prepped our car, and we were all set to move by Thursday night...

At the beginning of the year, Liezel told me 2010's gotta be a good year. Well, for one, Carl and I have finally found a better deal with the US economy. As for our friends, the Pascuals finally bought a home for themselves, Mhar has found a job in Southern California and can now live closer to Liezel, Becky's almost done with school, Jennifer has found a family friend company and now has more time with her kids, and Joyce can help another family when an opportunity comes up just like the way she helped us get back on our tracks. I guess Liezel's vision of a better 2010 is pretty accurate...

Now its time for a new adventure...

greeting the new year

2010-03-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

JANUARY 2010

We greeted 2010 with our friends in no less than Las Vegas. Yes - a bunch of broke young adults went to Las Vegas with hopes of having fun and setting aside our stressful lives for just a couple of days. Andrew was visiting from Hawaii, and so we took him around – maybe too much. Mhar took him around San Francisco, and with Liezel and Becky he was taken around Los Angeles. When we met up with them on the 30^th, he was bound to explore Las Vegas and probably Salt Lake City in the next 2 days. Carl and Mhar took turns as we took off to Vegas for New Year's Eve. With no hotel accommodations waiting for us, we just braved ourselves and decided we were gonna have fun as we greet the turn of the decade with a bang! We walked down the strip and took endless pictures until we were tired and feet were all numb. Carl and Mhar took a nap in the car, to recharge for another stretch of a couple hundred mile drive to Salt Lake City. Andrew from the islands wanted to see snow, and Carl and I wanted to take the chance to visit Jasmine before she gives birth.

We enjoyed ourselves in the lights and sounds of Las Vegas. The boys, perhaps, had too much to see! We “partied” to the New Year!!! We left Vegas at around 3am.

We reached Draper around 7am. The Milburys made us breakfast and were too kind they let us use their bathroom so we could all shower. Carl and I were very happy to visit Jasmine before she gives birth.

We went to Provo and took pictures around BYU campus,the Missionary Training Center, and Provo temple. We had dinner at Jenneth and Daniel Hampton's home. We had a good time reconnecting with old friends like the Catahans and the Comptons from Hawaii.

We later met up with Carl's mission companion Scott Warner and his fiance Cherise.

We stayed at Shey and Micah Bybee's apartment for the night (unfortunately, the Bybees were spending New Years in Pocatello). We had breakfast the next day at ate Jan's place...and Lui prepared Curry for our lunch!

Utah friends are so awesome! Shey and Micah made it to Salt Lake right before we had to leave for California. It had been an awesome holiday weekend.

Two weeks later, the gang met up again in Southern California for Kohath's 2^nd birthday.

KC Cornelio took time off from her training in North Carolina and paid us a visit. We spent that weekend in Bakersfield celebrating with the Pascuals. Ate Yvonne and kuya Kamille prepared a feast for their little Koko. Koko had a Mickey-themed party. We filled ourselves with pork bbq, pancit, grilled squid, addobo, salad and a lot of karaoke singing on top! It was fun. Of course, no trip to Bakersfield is complete without stopping by for ice cream at Dewar's... so we did that before driving back to LA.

In LA, we took KC around Universal City Walk. It was a rainy and rather gloomy day in sunny California.

The following week, Carl started his new job with Silla Automotive in Compton. He's be working as the company's Network Administrator. You know what they say, “when it rains, it pours”? Our kind of good rain showers was about to come our way...the kind of good rain pouring – its unbelievably overwhelming...

holiday stories...

2010-03-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

DECEMBER 2009

Carl never ran out of interviews. He took the job search seriously – like an 8-5 job. He wakes up and opens the computer, takes a break at noon for lunch, then resumes his search. He was anxious because we only had enough funds to cover a few weeks and he only had a couple of months to find a new job or he will be out of legal status. We frequently talked about our options, sometimes we ended up arguing about them. Each day became very stressful. Carl tried to reach some of his contacts in San Francisco.

We took a trip there a week before Christmas with Liezel and her friend ate Thelma.

We attended Serramonte Ward's Christmas party. Carl served most of his mission in Serramonte back in 2003.

We met up with ate Ann and kuya Philip Sagum. They are Carl's dear friends from Daly City. Carl was one of their witnesses when they got sealed in the Oakland Temple in 2005, and kuya Philip was one of ours when we got married in Hawaii in 2008.

They took us to BJs for dinner to celebrate ate Ann's birthday and their long awaited pregnancy. They've been trying to conceive for the past 8 years...and now she's finally expecting. Their story inspired us, since Carl and I are not having success reproductively. We were comforted because, indeed, in the Lord's time and through the Lord's will, we will be blessed with the opportunity to bear and raise a child.

Back in Southern California, I sent out our Holiday greeting cards just in time. We received some ourselves and we displayed them on our wall. Christmas time was getting closer as advanced notices from friends who were visiting for the Holidays came one by one.

Julie, Carl's ex-workmate from MySpace, treated us with free park-hopper tickets to Disneyland. It was like a return favor for everytime that Carl agreed to switch days off with her when they were still working together. We took that opportunity to unwind and de-stress ourselves.

Carl had a lot of interviews but no job offer came. It was frustrating...but we kept our hopes, Carl actually did this more than I did. I was getting more pessimistic everyday I was pathetic. Somedays, I thought our California-adventure was a big joke when no one was trying to be funny. Christmas came and we called home...I was sobbing like a severely wounded child as I talked to my mom. Carl kept his calm and comforted his family, telling them we were gonna be ok. We had Christmas dinner with Joyce's family. I made stuffed pork loin and guinataan and brought those to ate Lei and Ricky's apartment in Downey. Ate Lei made spaghetti. We ate and played Uno until probably 11pm. I prepared buko pandan salad for Carl and mine's own little feast in our room. Carl got me Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga (all four of them) and I got him photobook of our wedding pictures. Carl bought alcohol free White Zinfandel from Albertson's and we made a toast for a beautiful Christmas.

Our first visitor for the holidays was Zingeber, visiting from Canada. We met him at Universal City with Keith and Emerson. We later had dinner at kuya George's place in Carson.

A couple of days later, Joaquin and Hannah Gellor paid us a visit before Hannah and their daughters head back to the Philippines. Andrew arrived with Mhar and Becky a couple of days before New Year. Yes... 2009 was almost over. Liezel told me 2010 should be a good year, that we've all had a rough year and we all deserved a break. I wouldn't disgree on that... in fact, I am looking forward to a better year...

...More stuff to tell

2010-03-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

NOVEMBER 2009

Mhar visited for Halloween. We helped Aprilon move to his new apartment in Monterey Park. Aprilon started working at Union Bank in Monterey Park. Mhar took the time to help us look for a car. We almost purchased a red Saturn sportscar but Carl found out it didn't have a good history through Carfax. Mhar and Liezel later took off to spend Halloween in Hollywood. Carl and I spent the night giving candies with Joyce...

We didn't stop looking for a car. Carl skipped sunday school to check a car he was interested in. We were desperately looking for a cheap car because Carl works graveyard shift at MySpace all the way down in El Segundo. At last, Carl contacted a dealer in Orange County who was selling a 1996 Ford Taurus with 70,000+ miles for $2000. Carl negotiated with him and he agreed to accept $1500 cash and pay the rest in an installment basis. Carl's uncle, tito Cesar, took us to the dealership...and Carl closed the deal. There goes our savings and some help from a really good friend. We drove off with our “new” car...we were supposed to head straight home, but I got confused with our orientation and I prodded Carl to take the wrong freeway by mistake.

We ended up heading to Liezel's apartment in Commerce and showed them our baby. We named her Ramzel, in honor of her fairy godparents, if you know what I mean.

November proved to be yet another trying month. Carl and I caught a bad case of flu on Thanksgiving week. I wasn't able to babysit for a couple of days. Carl rested through his days off, but wasn't quite feeling well enough to resume work. He ended up missing a whole week of work, including Thanksgiving weekend. I didn't roast a turkey on Thanksgiving. I made pork steak for our little potluck with ate Lei and Ricky, we had Thanksgiving dinner with Joyce's family, and we met up with the Pascuals on Black Saturday while recovering from the flu. When Carl was ready to go back to work the week after, he was told he had already been replaced. We braced ourselves... it was a very bad time to lose his job. We had one more payment to make for the car, and we still had to pay the rest of our break lease fee. I continued to watch Jen's kids. I watched them 4x a week, 2x from 12noon to 1am and 2x from 8am to 8pm. Doing that covered our housing. Carl took small projects so we could get by... and the search for a new job began...

and the holidays was just around the corner...

A lot of stuff to tell...

2010-03-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

I know its been 5 months. How do I explain why I didn't blog for 5 months. Since I dont know how to explain, or rather, what explanation I would give, I would just go back to 5 months ago and start sharing our lives again.

OCTOBER 2009.

This was our last month at Lakewood Manor. We had to be out of our apartment by the 19^th. It was one of those months when it was easy to get lost in the chaos of real life. I broke down a couple of times. We moved into the apartment in June...and it hasn't been 6 months and we're moving out. Our bishop was helping us look for a place to move into. Bishop Fisher is an amazing person. He would always tell us to hang in there and counseled us to stay strong. He found us a good deal with one of the single ladies in the ward. Sister McNary lives by herself since all her kids have already moved out and are settled with their own families. She was willing to help us out since I was helping another single mom in the ward watch her kids while she works late shifts. It all worked out pretty well.

It was also Liezel's birth month. Carl and I took a trip with her to Oakland. We all had fun, especially Liezel. Usually, its Mhar who comes down to visit her in Los Angeles. We all wanted a break from Southern California anyway, so we went up north.

We met with April and Randall Zielke and had lunch at Max's in South San Francisco.

Liezel always wanted to take a ride on the cable cars in downtown San Francisco, so we went and took the rides all the way down to the pier.

We took the time to visit Nanay Julie as well. She's a lady from Carl's mission in San Francisco that he's really fond of. She took us out to dinner at Banana Island in Daly City.

By the end of the month, Emerson arrived from his trip to the Philippines. It was time to return his Camry. We picked him up at LAX, had dinner, we dropped off Carl at MySpace, he dropped me off at Joyce's, and he drove off to Bakersfield. Carl took the train to come home in the morning...and our search for our own car began...

more to tell...