Carl's Birthday Weekend

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

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

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 :)

a glimpse of Fall

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!!!!

Our Niece's Baby Blessing

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.

Mommy Jasmine and Baby Keana

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

608 Days, a Postcard and a Cake

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!

greeting the new year

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...

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...