The Last Post of 2011

Hello and Happy New Years Eve everyone!
I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday so far. The Señor and I had a wonderful time celebrating with our friends and family. It was a sort of a whirlwind of a time, and we did come out of it with a bit of a Christmas hangover, but it was a memorable time that I know we will never forget.

Our glorious holiday kicked off with just a simple trip to the airport to pick up the Señors family. We had shown up with his niece who had recently flown in from California safely the day before. The weather had begin to take a turn for the best, meaning it started to snow. I had never been to the airport during the holiday season, but it was really a unique sight to see. It was a hustle and bustle filled with positive energy as everyone there had smiles on their faces as they waited to catch a glimpse of their loved ones. Once we did, we were elated, and the holiday season had kicked off. While riding the escalator down with my future niece, my friend and bridesmaid Amalia  was at the bottom of the escalator. She had just arrived with her boyfriend (now fiancé) for Christmas. I was so excited to see her and screamed with joy. I had a few minutes to invite her to our home for a posole, tamales, and a stroll through the farolitos/luminarias in our neighborhood.
The snow storm we had was a glorious one, and I was able to catch some video/photos of it.

The next morning we woke up slowly and french pressed our coffee. The calmness of our morning was abruptly ended when we realized how much we had to do to prepare for our Christmas Eve Party. We still had to wrap a plethora of gifts and I had twenty four people to cook for. I was a bit nervous about our party. Mostly because this would be the first our families had actually met. With my nervous excitement I put on my bitch'n cooking apron and went to work on cooking the posole. Lucky for me, my madre and I had cooked up a batch of tamales earlier in the week.  This was an unusual move on our part, but a good one.

The arrival of our guest began with my brother and his girlfriend who had just moved back from Walla Walla, Washington. They arrived in great spirits and were ready to party and eat. Soon after it all became some what of a frenzy because it seemed like everyone arrived at the same time. The Señor and I hustled to stuff everyone up before heading out on the luminaria/farolito walk. Before we headed out we took a moment to appreciate how happy everyone seemed, and how great our families were getting along. Our big group headed out and we enjoyed the chilly air and great company.
We only lost 2 people during our stroll, but were able to catch up with them later. From this incident we came up with the idea of getting blinking reindeer antlers for the males who are above 6 feet tall to wear on the stroll next year.  We think it will help keep everyone together next time.

Although we were exhausted at the end of it all. We couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces. It was a great time, and we can't wait to do it again next year. We hope that we have started a joint-family tradition that we can enjoy for many years to come.

After the Christmas Eve Extravaganza we headed down to El Paso, Texas to enjoy some more family time. We arrived at my abuelitas house starving and ready to eat a feast once more. We got in some more family time and the Señor was able to meet my Godfather from Austin. We enjoyed some good jokes, food, and libations. A highlight of the evening was my Godfather and his son singing together. It was so amazing to see what a great father and son bond they had. Not to mention my cousins unbelievable singing talent. We wrapped the short trip up with a trip to my other Aubelitas house where my future husband stuffed down two bowls of posole like a champ. My Aubelita was very impressed by this.  After our short trip we rolled back up to ABQ and spent our last Christmas celebration with my future father-in-law and another amazing meal prepared by his wife. 

With all the eating and excitement of having family and friends in town you can see why we suffered from a bit of a Christmas Hangover.  However, our hangover was one we enjoyed and could easily handle. We wish we could have these moments all the time, but I guess the reason we have them every once in a while is what makes them so damn special. 

This post is getting a bit long, and I could seriously go for hours about how great 2011 has been. Even though I greeted this year with uncertainty and unsure about what would come of it. I made it a priority to keep a positive attitude about things. This lesson proved to be so valuable in 2011, and I plan to carry it on to 2012.
As for 2012..

I hope to log in a few more miles and a race
breath, stretch and write a bit more
spend more time with the positive influences in my life
do well in nursing school
Marry my Señor.

Best wishes to everyone in the New Year! Thanks for stopping by my soap-box in 2011! 

See ya next year!! 

Lovely Owl

I'm all done!
This evening I completed the last bit of my EMT-B testing. It was a bit stressful, but I studied enough that I felt confident about how it all went.
Now it's time to settle down and get into holiday mode. We have a lot to do wedding wise, but I plan to take some time to relax, run, and go to hot yoga. I hope to channel the relaxed owl in the video below.
Enjoy!

Oh, Hello Tree

This weekend we got around to putting up our Christmas tree. While it lightly snowed outside we sipped hot chocolate and hung ornaments. Sound like a holiday commercial?  It almost was. Except instead of having Christmas carols playing, we had At The Drive In rocking out in the background.
Oh well, tis the season.

Saved by the Designer's Lounge

Hello everyone!
Excuse my silly title for this post. I was recently sucked in to a few hours of Saved by the Bell re-runs and couldn't get this title out of my head. Don't worry, my lack of creativity for naming this post properly does not mean that this post will go down in a hot mess ball of flames.
It has been a while since I posted anything really wedding related on my blog. However, I knew as soon as I met Teresa Romero at The Designers Lounge I had to introduce my BB readers to her.
It all started when the Señor and I took our cars to our trusty mechanics at Rio Grande Automotive. I had recently spent the weekend looking at wedding dresses at local stores and was sort of disappointed with what I found myself settling for. It is sort of funny how some women have known the design of their dress since childhood. Not me, if anything I've changed the design of my dress in my head several times as I got older. In fact, I'm pretty sure my 30 year old self would puke at the site of my 23 year old image of a wedding dress.  That being said, Brianna at Rio Grande Automotive was so sweet to recommend Teresa as someone who could design my wedding dress.

 Wow.

Teresa and her mother Patty run The Designer's Lounge, which is a fashion design and sewing studio located here in Albuquerque, NM. At The Designer's Lounge you can take sewing classes, workshops and even private lessons in order to make your design dreams a reality. It is located in a great space with everything you need in order to get your creative juices flowing. Upon finding out about the great things The Designer's Lounge provides. The domestically disabled side of myself took a big sigh of relief. I've been trying to find out how I could learn how to sew without having to sneak myself into a high school home economics class.

Teresa Romero

My first meeting with Teresa was an exciting one. Upon walking into The Designer's Lounge  I heard the great sounds of Billie Holiday in the background and the layout of her shop instantly flashed me back to the vacation I took to Paris last year.
Teresa and I had discussed design through email a little bit and she seemed to get what I was getting at as far as the design I wanted. I feel that I sometimes have a hard time communicating what I want when it comes to our wedding, but she had no problem shifting through my awkward mumbling.  She had me explain what our wedding was going to look like to get some ideas. I told her that our wedding was not going to be limited to two colors, and would be very colorful. I described the homes in Mexico City and the vibrant style of Frida Kahlo. We are getting married at a historic Hacienda and we would really be highlighting our New Mexican/Mexican culture.  I was more than thrilled when I saw the excitement on her face. She told me she was going to draw up some sketches for me and we would meet in a couple of weeks.

 

Frida Kahlo--La Mission--San Francisco, CA

After biting my nails with anticipation to see the sketches. The time finally came to meet with Teresa. She showed me six sketches that she had drawn up and I was literally speechless.  I think my face was actually sore from smiling so hard.  She was able to not only come up with the most amazing sketches, but some of the most brilliant designs I have ever seen. She really understood what I was going for, and I felt like I was going to get the wedding dress that would make me feel beautiful on my wedding day.  We were able to come up with a design from her sketches and create my dream dress.  I was able to take copies of the sketches home to show the women in my family and my bridesmaids and they were beyond thrilled for me. I couldn't be happier with the decision to go with my heart and bypass settling for a dress, as well as the decision to go with Teresa and support local talent. I will be blogging updates on the construction of my dress as it comes along. Here is some photos of a few of the sketches.

Photos from the Design Diary
I absolutely loved how she gave the sketches a Frida like hair-do.

Cheers everyone!

Please check out The Designer's Lounge blog, website, and Facebook pages. 

If you're in the Albuquerque area, please check out the website calendar and see what The Designer's Lounge has to offer. You will not be disappointed.

Blog: http://thedesignerslounge.blogspot.com/

Website: http://designandlounge.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Designers-Lounge/71745123365

Esnacks

Hello Everyone,

Well the holidays are in full effect! This time of year can be overwhelming, but I love the craziness of it all.
Yesterday I completed and passed the first part of my basic emergency medicine technician final. I was thrilled to find out I passed my skills test. Even though I will not be going on to paramedic school I found taking the EMT-B class was very beneficial. Next week, if all goes well with my 2nd part of testing, we will be giving live injections to one another. Eek!
Right now here in ABQ we are bracing for a winter storm to blow through. It is crazy windy outside and I'm getting a huge kick out of watching the crows fight against the wind currents. I did want to go out and get a run in before the crazy wind kicked up, but It started very early this morning and I missed out. I know I'm making excuses to not go out and run, but I seriously fear a big tree may fall on top of me. With everything going on right now I don't have time to throw a tree off of me.
All kidding aside, I hope the winter storm brings some time to relax and sip some hot chocolate and hopefully some time to catch up on the blog.

I leave you all with a funny shopping list created by my f'word (fiancé) in espanglish.

Thanksgiving 2011!

Happy Thanksgiving BB readers!
I hope you haven't given up on me yet. Life has really taken over and I just haven't had to time to sit down and format a blog post. The good news is, I have a lot of things to share!
First up the 30 @ 30 Update: 

15) Finish the Harry Potter Series before watching the movies
I did it! I finished the Harry Potter Series and loved every single word. I now have an understanding of all the Harry Potter fanatics out there who fell in love with this novel. I know it's weird to say, but I imagined reading this series to my kids someday (If i am blessed with them). I still haven't watched the final movie, but I plan on fixing that very soon.

19) Study Hard
 Hard work and studying played a major factor of getting my acceptance into nursing school. However, I feel studying will always be a part of my life as a nurse. It's amazing how your studying habits can change when it's a life/death situation. My emergency medicine course has taught me this lesson early on. I plan on being a student of the health science for a good while, and I'm okay with that. 

22. Support a friends cause: 

I recently had two friends run a half marathon for a cause this year. My friend Danielle ran in London to help raise money for an orphanage in Thailand, and Laurel ran for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in San Francisco. I was so happy to contribute to both their causes, and  was so proud of them for completing their half marathon run.

This is not part of my 30@30 list, but my pallet shelving post has recently been featured on a German blog and I had to share! Thanks Antik & Natur for featuring my post.
http://www.antik-natur.de/blog/bauidee-palettenregal-3.html

Engagement photos are in!  Our beautiful/amazing photographer and friend Helin (Mooxie) completed our photos and we couldn't be more elated! Check out her touching blogpost and see more of our engagement photos by clicking the link below.
De La Mooxie Blog

Here is a preview on future post:
Our home is transforming: Back porch and bathroom remodel.
I'm going to introduce you all to my amazing wedding dress designer and give a brief wedding update.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU!
I'm so thankful that you made the time to stop by my little soapbox. 

Acceptance

On Monday I received the most amazing news in my e-mail inbox.
I was accepted into the pretty competitive CNM nursing program.
I've worked so hard to get to this point it almost seems surreal. Now I have to work even harder to do well in nursing school, and become a compassionate proficient nurse.
I can't wait to start this amazing and challenging journey.

Cheers!

Stay Tuned..

Hello BB readers,
I am so sorry for the lack of post lately. The Señor and I have been keeping busy with work, party planning and finals. We also celebrated our annual Turkanza party this past weekend. We had so much fun celebrating with our good friends and family it seems I decided to donate my voice to the party. Without a voice it looks like  I'll be writing a lot more. I look forward to catching up on the blog and all of your blog post if you have them.
Cheers amigos!
L

Dia de los Muertos 2011 Marigold Parade

This weekend was spent bracing for the cold weather and attending the annual Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade. The parade is held every year in one of my favorite neighborhoods here in Albuquerque called the South Valley. Some of you may know this neighborhood from the popular show Breaking Bad. The show films a lot of the scenes in this neighborhood. However, I know this neighborhood as a beautiful place in the fall time and a great place to get a bowl of menudo.The parade seemed bigger this year and was filled with folks dressed up in their muertos best. I always love seeing the niños/kids dressed up in their muertos outfits. They always seem great about staying in character.
My mother, sister and I got dressed up for the event and had a great time. We even went out to eat and stopped in a local neighborhood bakery to buy empanadas in our muertos get-ups. We did get a few stares and I think a few people snapped photos of us from a distance, but we didn't care.
Here is a few photos from the parade and a video of the Lowriders in the parade. The Lowriders are my madres favorite. You can hear her in the video saying "There ya go!!" when they bounce up in down. My madre is too cute!
I hope you all enjoyed honoring and remembering your loved ones who have passed. I know we did.

Feliz Día de los Muertos 2011

Cualli Tonalli!
Today we honor our ancestors for our amazing traditions and remember those friends and family who have passed on.
Día de los Muertos is more than just sugar skulls and face paint. It's a tradition and part of our unique culture. Please take the time to educate yourself on the holiday.
Here is a great link from the SMithsonia Latino Center to get started, and you can make your own altar.
http://latino.si.edu/DayoftheDead/
Feliz Día de los Muertos Bandida Blog readers!

Artwork by local artist Brandon Maldonado

November 1st

Happy November Everyone!
We are stoked for this month. We are looking forward to the kick off of lots of family and friend time, good eating, and TURKANZA!! 
This year our Turkanza party will be all about celebration.  Turkanza helps us celebrate birthdays, big events, and this year our engagement. We wouldn't be anything without our friends and family and Turkanza gives us a chance to say thanks and catch up with all our amigos! We can't wait to see everyone and have good conversation by the bonfire and stuff up on green chile turkey!

On a side note: I've included this photo of a praying mantis that was hanging out on our screen door. I thought for sure this guy was dead after coming out on a freezing ABQ morning and seeing him lifeless. Much to my surprise he was still kicking after I gently poked him with my foot. The praying mantis was moved to our sunny backyard and has been hanging out there ever since. Nothing like a little sunshine to save the day.

Cheers amigos!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!
It was a frantic trip, but the Señor and I managed to run to the store after work/class and pick up some candy bars for the kiddos and carve a pumpkin before the trick or treating started. We don't really get many kids that come trick or treating around our neighborhood, because we are sort of on a hidden street. However, the Señor solves this problem by walking up to the candy bowl and saying "Trick or treat" and taking the candy for himself. Oh well, I guess It doesn't go to waste if someone is eating it.
I hope all you Ghouls and Gentlegoblins are having a great holiday! I think the current chilly weather calls for some hot chocolate and a trip to the candy bowl.

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN

FROM BANDIDA BLOG!

Fall Time

I love this time of year in NM.
The mild temperatures are starting to give way to cool mornings and chilly nights. It's the type of weather that makes you bust out the down comforter from the depths of your closet and wrap yourself up burrito style and settle in with a nice cup of tea. However, holding the cup of tea may be difficult if you have yourself wrapped up burrito style. You're going have to figure out a way to free an arm. Anyways, you get my drift.
Last weekend we met with the talented Mooxie to take a few photos. Patrick and I were a bit nervous about taking engagement photos, but Helin is definitely a professional at what she does and we had tons of fun with it!
Helin recently sent me a couple of photos from our shoot and I am so happy how they came out. We really wanted to capture the fall season with our photos because the Señor and I originally wanted to get married in the fall, but my school schedule may have made things difficult to do that. Fall time truly is a wonderful time of year here in NM, and taking photos down by the cottonwood trees that line the river was a great way to capture that.
Cheers amigos!

 

http://delamooxie.com/

http://delamooxie.com/

Differences

“Husbands and wives should have separate interests, cultivate different sets of friends and not impose on the other. You can’t spend a lifetime breathing down each others necks. We are very, very different people and yet somehow we fed off those varied differences and instead of separating us, it has made the whole bond a lot stronger.” -Paul Newman

 

 I love this. The Señor and I are a couple that don't do EVERYTHING together and we love it that way. It definitely keeps life interesting and we always have something different to share with one another.  From our culture to what music we listen to, our differences create a strong bond that keeps us madly in love.

What differences bond you to friends? family? loved ones?

Mooxie Art & Photography

Just like any other engaged couple out there, the Señor and I have heard the horror stories of wedding photographers either delivering terrible wedding photos or none at all. Since we got engaged and started planning our wedding, I’ve always knew that I wanted beautiful photos of our wedding, and that I wanted my girl Helin Montgomery aka as Mooxie to be our wedding photographer.  I've known Helin since we were 15, and believe it or not we use to break dance together back in the day. Today, Helin is still the best break-dancer I know and her Art & Photography talents are both breathtaking and inspiring.

You can imagine my excitement when Helin let me know that she had our date free to shoot our wedding. Not only are the Señor and I blessed to have such an amazing photographer, but also are so excited to know that our good friend will be taking all the special shots on our day. 

We have scheduled an engagement photos session with Mooxie and can't wait to get our mugs snapped by her.  I'll make sure to share the photos with you all as soon as they come in.

I know I am moving along fast on this wedding planning, but it's sort of my style. 

I figure,

Work hard now to sort out details.

Relax and get married. 

I hope all is well with you amigos and I wish you all a great weekend. 
Please enjoy these amazing photos from De la Mooxie Photography and pay her website a visit!

The talented Mooxie

Rest In Peace Steve Jobs

1955-2011