365 challenge

Week 1 - not too bad, but it has only been one week :) Here are a few pictures of the week.
Jan 1 - Diego and his hot chocolateJan 2 - Diego's new TV chair

Jan 5th - Jordan racing the professor to the top of the ropes - this shot is of them coming down. It was really close I think Jordan had Cristiano worried for a second.
Jan 6 - yes, a picture of a picture - my favorite new app is Instagrams and this day Diego "popped" my plans of having a day off to myself.
Last Jan 7th, who doesn't love the candy isle - though I remember when candy cost .50. I picked the Tootsie Roll in the end --- and skittles.

New Year's Resolutions

Every New Year's Eve my husband asks me what my resolution will be for the coming year. I use to think this was a ridiculously lame tradition. BUT - 2 years ago I made a resolution that really changed my views of resolutions and my life.
We had just moved to Yakima after a very rough year for the family. I was struggling in just about every area - I was in survival mode and it was time to live life.
In 2010 I made a resolution, a 3 part resolution to strengthen myself - strengthen my body, mind and spirit. I joined a gym, embraced my new ward and started studying for the GRE. As the year came to a close I was successful in 2 of 3 of my challenges. I was going to the gym 3-4 times a week, my testimony was stronger then it ever has been. -- Still working on the GRE.
As 2011 came I was overly optimistic about a resolution. And throughout this year I learned a lesson - a resolution will not work if it is simply an "I want" and not something that requires work to improve yourself. I will admit my resolution........for those who know me, I love shoes. And so of course it made sense to make a resolution that every month for an entire year I get a new pair of shoes. I learned that not only was this not practical, but I really didn't want to commit to finding a new pair of shoes each month - I was more hoping that the shoes would find me.
So this year, I have thought a lot about what I want to improve in my life. I am still working out regularly, I am still strengthening my testimony and I still love shoes - I just don't have 12 new pairs. I have an interest, maybe even a talent (wishful thinking), and I really want to challenge myself. This year I will be doing the 365 photo challenge - I will take a picture every day of the year. I am not sure if I can commit to posting every day - lets not get too excited.

Mixed Emotions

And there goes my baby - off to kindergarten.
It was a long and stressful decision - I ended up pulling Diego out of our district, due to the district's poor decision making and put him in a different district.
So far, I have no regrets breaking the mold and in my own small way taking a stand against our district.

Diego has two friends from preschool in his class (twins) and two more friends in another class from preschool.
As you can tell from the picture - the boy is READY!
Diego's personality is independent and carefree. Has has the gift of being able to "go with the flow". On his first day, he would have been more than willing to walk in the school and find his way. I think he liked having mom & dad because in his mind it was all about him. Every time he looked at us of course we were looking at him or taking his picture -- okay, it was all about him ;)
And of course, his one last shot - as he was getting settled into class, and I wanted one more picture. And with that I knew he was going to be fine.
I wish his teacher luck with the coming year - lol!
As for me, I have one week until the preschool starts up. I am busy with lesson prep and classroom arrangements. But I have to say, not having Diego around to "help", I have gotten work done a lot quicker and find myself twittering my thumbs watching the clock to hit 3pm.
Granted - it has only been 2 days.........

Little Chef

This is a picture that I will forever cherish.

Ever since Diego was small he has always wanted to be in the kitchen, helping me cook. Even when he was just one years old he would sit up on the counter and watch, holding produce and of course chatting away. He knew the rules - even when someone else came in the kitchen he would make sure to point to the stove and say "hooooot!" ---whether it was on or not.
Now he is 5 and he still likes to be in the kitchen. He is always asking how he can help and if I don't have him doing something he will ask me a dozen different ways of "what can I do."
He wants to own his own restaurant, but first want to work at Bennihana's - his favorite restaurant.
It is memories like this that make me appreciate the little things because too often I am guilty of getting caught up in the moment of getting something on the table.

What is in a shoe?

I love shoes!
I love quirky shoes, colorful shoes, sexy shoes - I love shoes. I would wear heels with jeans everyday if I wasn't having to chase around Diego and bracing myself for bear hugs and squatting down to get on his level at least a dozen times a day. I am not blaming Diego, before he came along, it was Jordan and now it is an occupational hazard.
Unfortunately, I am not at a point in my life were I can have my own shoe closet, or even a large section of my closet devoted to shoes - but someday.
So I currently live in the middle of nowhere - scarce shopping and food options. All of the stores and restaurants I love are hours away - Bath & Body, Nordstroms, Baja Fresh, Jimmy Johns - we did just get a Khols - but you get my point.
So I have been told many times that I need to shop online, so I have ventured into the cyber world and this is my story.....
I finally go to our new Kohls, I have a $10 off coupon and I want a new pair of shoes! I have been needing a new pair of black heels for almost 6 months now and I found the perfect pair!!! I have Diego with me so I have to make the fitting and purchasing quick. I get home and decide that the shoes are a little bit to big - thus I need a smaller size, but I had just bought their smallest size. I call the store to see if there is anyway to get a smaller size. I am told that when I return the shoes I can use a Kohls kiosk to purchase the right size and shipping would be free. So I take a chance.
PROBLEM #1 with online shopping - I have no patience, that was the longest 7-10 days of my life!!
Finally the day came - I was pulling into our driveway and I see my package - YIPPEEE! Like a child on Christmas I grab my package and immediately open it up to find my order.......
Yes - the photo is what was in my package.....size 10 men's Converse - red - PROBLEM #2.
I was so heartbroken....I have no black heels -it is spring, my boots are going to be retired for the season at any time and I have no black heels - heartbroken.
So of course I call customer service (PROBLEM #3) and talk to a very nice man, though it took quiet a bit of effort to explain what I ordered and what I got.
So we decide on a game plan - I reordered the shoes through the phone and get free shipping again and 20% due to the hassle (thank you). So the next step was to take the shoes to the local Kohls to get a direct refund.....
Again - explaining what I wanted and what I got was a headache. The lady scans the receipt and then the box and it doesn't match - I guess she didn't believe me. So the shipping receipt doesn't show the price of the shoes, but on the box shows the price of my Converse mishap. I tell the nice lady the price of my heels I purchased, yet she has to put in a bar code in the system - so in the end I get a gift card for the price of the returned Converse shoes - $44.00 as opposed to my $28 shoes + the $10 off coupon + 20% off due to the shipping mishap! SCORE!
But I am back to PROBLEM #1 - waiting for my shoes to arrive.
And finally they arrive!!! And this time the right shoe -
And this girl couldn't be happier!

Holly CRAP!

Okay is has been WAY to long since I posted last. In my defense I have had a lot of ideas for posts...but never get around to it. Blame the iPhone (or Julio for getting it for me) - I never use an actual computer anymore.

So this last weekend we got to go to a Jujitsu tournament for Jordan - he took 1st in his weight class and was super stoked.
It scares me sometimes how fast he is growing and changing. Other times there is a lot of pride in the man he is becoming.

Five Fun Facts

DECEMBER 13th!!

My baby is turning 5, so here are 5 fun facts about the birthday boy.

1) After his nap, Diego goes directly downstairs and gets 2 pop-ices out of the freezer, sits on the couch and enjoys his cold treat while he wakes up - EVERY DAY

2) It is very common to see Diego with only one sock on - he has done this ever since he could pull off a sock (one of my favorite quirks about the boy).

3) Just like his dad - he LOVES to go to the movies. Or just have a movie night at home.

4) With perfect timing and animation, Diego produces one liners seen on movies, shows and music.

5) Diego's favorite color is orange...because it is the color of cheese (no Diego has no preference for cheese - don't question the child's logic)