All things San Diego

It was that time again for me and my cousin/best friend to see each other and enjoy each others company and San Diego was the perfect place for that to happen.  Unfortunately for me she loves there and I don't! :(. Lol.  But San Diego was absolutely fabulous and even more fabulous was that we accomplished everything we set out to do: tour the USS Midway, attended a professional baseball game (a first for me) San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants!  It was perfect that the padres just happened to play our  home team and it was hilarious that the Giants had more fans than the Padres.  Another fabulous occurrence was that thanks to the ticketmaster kiosks right outside the stadium we got 2 tickets for $16 total!  What a deal! We had deals all weekend.  Friday consisted of Mission/Pacific Beach and shop at the outlets.  We went to the outlets right on the border.  I swear I did not know San Diego was that close to Mexico! Crazy.

 But even better than that was the crazy amazing deals we got.  I easily had 6 bags of purchases (including gifts for Eric and Amaya) for $50 total.  Although it was gonna be a right squeeze in my carry on suitcase I could not pass up on any deals.  Next was the Beach and boy was it fabulous! It was just gorgeous and beautiful and relaxing and we could not get our minds off how one day we were going to own a beach house or have a timeshare or something.  Because, although, we don't swim and the water is cold just looking at the ocean is relaxing on itself and it takes your mind off everything else that doesn't matter and you just live in the moment.  Plus there's no mosquitoes and horse flys that bite you to death (like at the lake).  

After the beach, and our "accident" (inside joke), we went to one of my favorite spots to eat: Chili's!!  And we ran into a girl we went to junior high with!  It was crazay!  We weren't always the nicest to this girl but c'mon it was junior high and by graduation time we had made up and even cried.  Lol.  But yeah we talked with her and that was really nice to see how much we've all grown up and have done different things in our lives.  

On to Saturday....PRIDE!!!!  I had my 5k and the parade and it was fabulous, thankfully Devonna lived right across the street from where the 5k and parade were so parking was not an issue.  And I succeeded in goals for my first 5k which was to NOT stop for anything and to finish in 30 minutes. Well I got 30:47 and I consider that 30 minutes.  And my cousin was waiting for me at the finish line and took some good pictures. After the 5k it was Parade Time and that was a sight to see (to say the least).  It was so much fun and exciting and motivating to just be yourself! While my cousin had to go to work I went and got myself my Carne Asada tacos from TacoRey! Delicious and I went and took a nap.  Then we walked from Devonnas job, which is right downtown, and went to see the Sklar Brothers at the American Comedy Club.  We had so much fun! All the comedians were hilarious.  After that it was a night out on the town in downtown Diego and boy were the streets packed!  I mean the streets were filled with crowds and groups of people on every street, every corner!  It was fun!!!!  We had some troubles finding a karaoke bar, Yelp messed us up so we just called it a night because I had a 6am flight.  :(. Devonna came back to my hotel to ensure I could fit all my clothes into my carry on luggage and we did it!!!! It was sheer will cuz in theory it should not have worked.  Lol.  

My cousin Devonna and I had a blast, grown woman style! And it'll be a weekend I never forget!  San Diego was love at first sight.  I absolutely loved the city, it was easier to get around than I thought it was going to be, especially once I traded in my convertible Camaro for a Hyundai! Haha.  I had to do it, I wasn't trying to kill myself.  I knew what was best, but I still love the Camaro, we just didn't work out.  :(. People were nice and there was so much to do and easily accessible!  We were dreaming about how one day we will own beach property!   If anyone does it, it will definitely be me and Devonna cuz we stay motivated and we motivate and support each other to the fullest!  I love her and will always be there for her and I know I can count on her.  

Now it's time for Pictures: 

Our 3 Year-old sweet girl!

Today is Amaya's 3rd Birthday and I couldn't be more proud of how much she is learning and coming into her own.  This last 3 years has been a learning experience for all 3 of us but we are glad we are doing it together.  We become stronger and stronger, together, each day.  

Raising children, by no means, is easy but my daughter makes it enjoyable (most of the time lol) and both Eric and I are so grateful to have her in our lives.  She, truly, is both of us put into one.  

A note to Amaya:

We love you and will always be there for you.  We will continue to be the best role models so that you can have the best opportunity in life.  And we will always have your back no matter what. 

For your 3rd birthday we went to grandma and grandpa's lake house at Bad Medicine Lake in Minnesota and celebrated your birthday with: grandma, grandpa, auntie tara and uncle rick, your cousins Kendall and Jaxon (and we cant forget maggie and pacey).  We had balloons, ice cream cake, and presents.  The weather wasn't the best but Saturday was decent enough to play outside.  Auntie Tara brought stuff to make bird feeders and both you and Kendall loved every minute of it.  Although it wasn't anything extravagant you had a blast.  You just love being with family and having people to get attention from (lol).  

Here are some pictures from the Birthday Weekend:

Amaya and JJ speak the same language when it comes to toys :)

Trying to get this girl to look at the camera AND smile is, sometimes, too much to ask for. lol

"For the Birdies"  

Grandpa and Uncle Rick were blowing up the Inflatable ball and it was too too loud for them to bear.   They crack me up.  :))

Im pretty sure she was trying to pedal, steer, and smile for the camera so yeah that is what we ended up with.  haha

Yay!  A successful Picture with Auntie Tara!!!   Love this

Present time: i got my Turtles Coloring Book.  My Fav!

Upside Down but Who Cares???  Not I

Me and Grandpa checking out my new clothes.

My big cousin, Kendall, and I opening up my presents.  What can I say?  She loves to help me and show me the ropes

Me and JJ again

Auntie Tara helping me make the perfect Heart bird feeder

2 hour ride in the cooler and I would say it made it alright!

The inflatable ball was definitely the funnest!  

  

May 2013 pt.1 (late post)

Whooo!  what a first 4 months it has been in 2013!  Lots of activity, lots of changes but still more changes to come.  To begin I will write about my weight loss activity.  So far I have lost 21 pounds and I currently weigh 156.  And although I am loving it and am proud that I have taken a liking to working out and I am working out CONSISTENTLY! which was definitely a major goal for me...I am not where I want to be.  This past week I have gotten back to my eating 1200 calories and working out like crazy so that i can reach my goal weight of: 137 by august 2nd (graduation).

Besides getting back on my grind of losing weight, we took family pictures last weekend and I am very pleased with how they came out.  Of course it could have been better (what else is new) but we got a lot of great shots of Amaya, some of Amaya & me, and only a few good ones of all three of us :((.  But overall, we got some great shots.  Amaya was nervous in the beginning, as usual, but she came into her own soon after we got started.  When it comes to pictures, i've learned, you just never know and just do the best you can with helping your child feel comfortable.  I was very nervous about the weather considering two of her three outfits were skirts, but the weather cooperated with us just at the perfect time!  We had a lot of fun!!!  I will post a couple pictures but I will be sending pictures/picture books/photo gifts to close family and friends.

Enjoy

  my favorite of me and mimi

  such a Big Girl!

  She just adores him

  

making me laugh (saying something silly)

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Easter 2013

So Easter was good to us this year. We had a nice, long 4 day weekend together and once again we took Amaya to the Easter Egg Scramble that the Alerus Center puts on every year. And Amaya had a blast. She was not as aggressive as she was last year when it came to scrambling for eggs, but she definitely got plenty of candy. The less eggs the better (in the long run).

On Easter Sunday we hid eggs and her Easter basket and recorded that via our camcorder. I can't wait until she can watch herself 10 years from now! She is going to laugh her butt off. She is so crazy these days!!!

We also made an Easter bunny cake which you see in the pictures. Not sure what I was doing with the decorations but I just did what I could with what I had and I figure I will get better with time! :).

Overall, Easter weekend was good. Amaya was a terrible picture taker as usual but she had fun. No meltdowns when we left the scramble nor when we left grandma and grandpas place so that was a major plus!