Chocolate, Panan and Christmas

Well for those of you who read my last blog I am feeling better and I´m not so sad. Things have been fun here. Even though I am still looking for a job and school here doesn´t start till January I have kept myself preocupied. I learned how to make chocolate from the Cocoa seed. It´s so cool and very yummy. I´ll think about sharing the recipe....just kidding. It´s very easy but time consuming. So you have to break open the pod and take the white stuff off the seeds. You can eat the white stuff but I don´t like it. Then you have to let the seeds ferment for 2 days. Then you dry the seeds in the sun for 2-3 days. Then they are ready to toast in a frying pan. Then you have to take the shell off of them and then you get to grind them adding cinnamon, vanilla, peanuts and sugar. Pretty much thats it. You can use this so make hot chocolate or just eat it. It´s not as bitter as dark chocolate but not as sweet as milk chocolate. It´s just good. I´ll post pictures as soon as I get my camera back, its in the capital.

So I´ve been spending alot of time with a family in Panan. It´s a little town about 20min by bus outside of San Antonio. This family has a nephew they want me to marry. He is very nice and a return missionary. We´ll see how it goes. I´ll keep you all updated. Oh and his name is Josue which in English is Joshua.

So here is my Christmas picture. I am very excited about this picture because I have gone down one size in my clothing. I don´t know how much weight but I am excited to know it´s happening for me. Finally after all the gyms and diets in the states and after only 1 1/2 months of living here and I´m losing weight!!!! Yah!!!!

Me and my best friend Mariela.

Christmas was good. We ate Turkey and Tamales and mashed potatoes and salad. It was good. Here though they celebrate at midnight on the 24th. So I felt like a glutton but oh well. On the 25th I went and visited the family in Panan. We went swimming in the river that is in front of their house. I can´t complain it was a good week. Oh and last night we had a Young Single Adult dinner and dance and it was fun too. I´ll post more pictures soon and I´ll try to take more pictures as I lose weight!!! Merry Christmas to all and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Life´s Little Wonders

So here I am in Guatemala. Land of the Book of Mormon. Land of the Eternal Spring. Shouldn´t I be happy? I broke up with my boyfriend of six months. That´s the longest I have been with anybody ever. I did it because i wanted him to focus on going on a mission. But then I couldn´t stop thinking about him and i felt i had made a serious mistake. well lo and behold he doesn´t care for me anymore. i guess that makes things easier but it seems harder now. i always thought of him as my back up plan...is that too harsh? that maybe if i couldn´t find anyone else he would always be there because he was the first one to say I Love You. It took me a little longer. now i´m worried that i will end up alone with no family, no children. i read all my friends blogs and see how happy they all are. they all have been married for awhile and have their family, their kids. sometimes i wonder if i´m being punished for some reason. also i wonder...should i just settle? whomever the next one is that says or acts like they like me do i just settle so i can have something and hope that one day i´ll love him? Augh!!!!!!!! I´m so tired of waiting, hoping, and praying that MY DAY will come. Then there are personal things going on that cause me to think did I make the right decision? Everytime I think it´s the spirit telling me what to do have I been wrong? Am I so alone in this world that even Heavenly Father has left me? Why couldn´t MY LIFE have been easy? Why did I have to be the good daughter and make correct choices when they haven´t brought me anything eternally speaking. I´m literally alone, confused, and wonder if somewhere along the line I made a terrible mistake. Should I have not gone on a mission? Should I have not come to visit that first time here in Guatemala where I fell in love with this country and it´s people? Should I have given that first guy in Boise a chance when he wanted to date me? Should I have said yes that first time a guy from my mission asked me to marry him when I first came here to Guatemala? Should I stop asking Heavenly Father what to do and just do whatever I want? Sigh. Why does Christmas time always seem so sad for me?! Sigh.

I fell.....hard!

So here I am in Guatemala looking for a job. Granted it is a little hard because here everything is a little slower and this is about the time that many places are going on vacation for the holidays. So I've been staying with my friend/latina sister-in-law and by latino brother the last couple of weeks. It's been great getting to know her better and also being able to help her since she is pregnant....due in February. Well the downside is that there isn't much to do. We do a lot of talking and sometimes go visit an investigator here in the ward. Other than that we really don't have internet during the day either...very lucky that I'm writing this right now. So I just so happened to have the first Twilight book that I had barely gotten into. So I brought it up from my car where it's been since I left for Guatemala. Well she, Shawnette, starting reading it and was getting through it fast! So I decided I should see what all the fuss is about and it would also give me something to do. I read the first one in ONE day. I stayed up all night, well till 1am reading it. Crazy right??? Well if you knew me maybe you wouldn't think so too much. So at the end of Book 1 there is a clip of Book 2. I just fell so fast!!! I loved it and wanted to read Book 2 NOW!! The only problem is...well maybe more than one problem...I don't have money and I'm in Guatemala. There are books here but who knows if they are more expensive or if I could even find it in English. We thought about waiting till her Mom comes in February for the baby but I knew I wouldn't be able to wait. So.....don't think to badly about me....I downloaded the next three from the internet. I read the second book in ONE day and now I am on book THREE. I can't put it down....except to sleep or write this. Now I understand this craziness. We are planning on trying to see the movie for Christmas with all our latina sisters. I'll let you all know.

Guatemala and the trip here

So I thought I better let everyone who reads this know that I am here safe and sound. I was so excited that gas in Texas was SOOOOO cheap. The cheapest I paid was $1.94! I was so excited! In Utah it was over $2.00. So in Mexico it was horrible! Got pulled over twice by the police! The first time we had only been there for 10 minutes! So we paid them $40 and we were on our way. The next time we learned and got away without paying anything!! So finally we made it to Guatemala! We went to Panajachel, Xela, and Antigua. It was fun. I broke up with my boyfriend because he just isn't putting forth the effort and I don't know how serious he is about serving a mission. So i fasted and prayed and I felt it was better to just be friends for now. I have met a lot of great people and I am looking forward to meeting more. On friday we had a fireside with Elder Bednard it was great! I was sitting just a few rows away! So life is just happy and things are going so well. Ill update with pictures soon!

Interesting...

44%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

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Thanks to Alli for this one. Although I think right now that I don't have a job I am blogging a lot more than usual. It will probably change when I get to Guatemala though.

Saying Goodbye

So this weekend was a weekend of goodbyes for my friends here in Utah. Friday I had some people from my student ward come over so we could take pictures and have a little fun since I won't be here this weekend. It was great! We watched some pretty hilarious videos on youtube...gotta love it. Then we played Scum. Since I had hurt my knee that same day from 12 long hours of Banquet Serving at the Grand America I made everyone else move around me when it came to positions for Scum. We had quite a few laughs and lots of fun!! Then Saturday I went up to Ogden because A. my friend is leaving for her mission and she wanted me to sing and B. I wanted to say goodbye to everyone I could up there. It was a lot of fun. Especially eating the latino food. Yum!! Can't wait to be able to eat it everyday!! Also I was able to talk with the family about possible routes to take in Mexico. We settled in the shortest...19hrs..and cheapest...about $60 for toll roads. So I'll be driving through Texas. Basically taking the same way I did the last time but this time I will actually be able to get there. It was great being able to sing. I haven't really done any for awhile at least not since last Spring. I stayed through till last night and hung out with my friend and her family. All day Monday we spent shopping with her Mom for things that she still needed for the mission. It was great because I was able to recall the memories of when I left for my mission. Having the open house and then shopping for clothes and other miscellaneous items. We were so exhausted!! That night we went with all the other young single adults from the Spanish branch for ice cream at Farr's. The best possibly ever....or at least a close second to Ben and Jerry's. Afterwards we went and watched the new Indiana Jones. Got to love those movies!! Now I'm back home procrastinating packing. I still have three more days!! But it was great to see some of all those I new up there. I'm probably going back on tomorrow to hang out with the choir and say goodbye to my old boss who I love so much. It's very weird because time is coming so quickly! Soon I will be in Guatemala! Yay!!

Funny!

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Family - Trip to Idaho September 2008

My Aunt Lori, Marissa and me. Abby had to jump in.
I think all these photos are fuzzy because Keegan had been playing with it earlier and it must have gotten smudged.


Megan and Keegan. Before he was playing with the camera.

Me and my Dad. I went up because A. He was leaving for Alaska that next week and B. Megan was in town with Keegan.

Me and my Bro Mike.

Me and my Gramama Richlin.

Yah I know this is a really fuzzy picture. We have a tradition of eating at Cafe Ole everytime there are enough of us in town to do it. I'll go clockwise from the left. Mariah and her new baby MacKensie, Marissa, Mike, Abby, Megan and Keegan, Aunt Lori, me, Gramama Richlin. Mom was out of town with Layne so she wasn't there. I'm going up on the 1st so I can see her before I go.

Las Vegas Trip

I loved this view! Someday Paris, someday.

I love LV! I could never afford it but I love it!


This is one of my favorite photos!

Cute Italian accordian player at the Venetian.


So I got to go to Las Vegas for a work conference. I was way excited. Seeing the Bellagio was awesome! It is the most beautiful hotel I've ever seen! Also the water show is so much better than Ocean's 11 would have you think. I mean that is where I fell in love with it but wow! Even though it wasn't the best time I could have had in Las Vegas it was great to be able to see the beautiful sights I did see.

Frustration

So my roommate made an interesting comment to me this morning. She said that I exhibited more emotions within an hour time span than she could imagine. I thought it was funny because of what was happening at that moment. I was frustrated with my old job because they would not call or text me back about coming and getting my personal items and I was frustrated with this blog because I couldn't figure out how to change the layout. And then I was happy because I figured it out, then frustrated, then happy....you can see where I'm going with this. We laughed about it. The real funny thing is that this is who I am. I am a very emotional person and I wear them on my sleeve. People have told me not to be this way but I think I've decided to heck with them this is how and who I am. If someone doesn't like then they can find some other cool person to be friends with.

Other than this i am a very happy person right now because it grows ever so much closer to the day when i can say "Adios" to the USA and "Hola" to Guatemala. The country of the Eternal Spring. Doesn't that sound lovely? An Eternal Spring? I think so and here I come!!

Crazy Eights

Tagged- 8's
8's
1.One Tree Hill
2. Gossip Girl
3. Greys Anatomy
4. Fringe
5. ER
6. Privelidged
7.90210
8. Ugly Betty
Can you tell I watch alot of the CW?

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Olive Garden
2. Both My Grandmas
3. Anything in Central America
4. Zupas
5. Paradise Bakery
6. Fast Food
7. Crown Burger
8. Ben and Jerry's..does that count?

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. Finished the Magic Circle..good book.
2. The company I only had two more weeks with let me go. Ugh!
3. Worked
4. Bought my plane ticket for Boise in two weeks
5. Got my nails done
6. Got my Scentsy..sorry Christine I know I didn't get it from you.
7. Chatted with my BFF Mariela
8. Went to bed early for a night when I could have stayed up late!!

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Going to Guatemala!!
2. Seeing my boyfriend!
3. Seeing my fam in Boise
4. Finding a temp job..ugh!
5. Getting married in the temple
6. Having kids
7. Being with everyone I love for the Eternities
8. Going to Guatemala

8 things I love about fall:
1. Crisp Clean Air..stole from Christine
2. Crunchy leaves
3. Halloween
4. That means I'm close to going to Guatemala
5. Summer Memories
6. Pumpkin Rolls!
7. Nothing much else..the last and next I stole from Christine. hehe
8. Baking!

8 things on my wish list:
1. Get to Guatemala safely
2. Teach English in a school
3. Get married in the temple
4. Have kids
5. Get a job for the next two weeks
6. A new car?? Not likely
7. A million dollars? Not likely
8. Be able to see all my loved ones whenever I want.

8 people I'm tagging:
1. Anyone who reads my blog
2. Andertons
3. Katelyn
4.RaeLynn
5. Shawnette
6. I Dont
7. Know anyone else
8. with a blog

Guatemala Here I Come

Ok so now I have 25 days and counting till my last day at work. Excited? Yes! Why? Because I am moving to Guatemala. So I know many of you might think, didn't she try this 2 1/2 years ago? Yes I did and didn't make it. I was naive and didn't really make a solid plan. Well this time is different becuase I have a travelling companion and I know what I need in order to go through Mexico. I'm very excited and can't wait. I'm going to go to Boise for a couple days first so I can say goodbye to my mom and family up there. Dad is already gone to Alaska and I saw him when I went last weekend. Then it's off to Guatemala!! It should take 3-4 days depending on if Daniel, my friend coming with me, and I trade off driving or actually stop in with members I know to sleep. We haven't decided yet. I would like to get there asap so we may just trade off driving. Mariela and I will be getting a place in the capital as she has a new job there. I will find a temporary job, or it may turn out to be long term, until the teaching job starts next June. I'll also be helping Mariela learn English and that should be fun. All in all I am so excited to be following my dream. Heavenly Father has been telling me for awhile that I need to be there and I've decided that in order for Him to bless me I need to follow His counsel. So Guatemala here I come!

Isn't Life Great?

End of summer, start of fall. I love the changing of seasons..although I really don't like the cold. Its been good weather here in Salt Lake and I've really enjoyed it. Plus the colder it gets means the closer I am to going to Guatemala in November and seeing all my loved ones....especially my boyfriend! Summer was great. I finally got to go boating Labor Day weekend. We were surprised there weren't many boats at the resevior. I got to drive pretty much the whole time...that was so cool! I'll have to put pictures up as soon as I transfer them to my USB port. Also a great thing about the Fall is the return of all my favorite shows....Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, ER, Heroes, Smallvile, ANTM, The Hills, Family Guy and some new ones....90210(old too?), Privileged(sp?), Fringe.

So far all have been fantastic!!! Thanks to my DVR I can cut out the commercials and watch them whenever I want...which means I can still have a life when I'm not exausted from work. It's funny to me when people ask me if I'll be able to give up TV and magazines and everything I have when I get married and move to Guatemala. I say...Of Course! None of that is really very important to me. Whenever I am down there I get to do so much more that is important and fullfilling. So here's to my great life, family, friends, and most of all my Heavenly Father who has provided me with all of this greatness.

Me and my roommates!!

Olympics 2008

So this year's Olympics was held in Bejing, China. I was very skeptical to begin with because of the human rights issues and how communist the country was. I wasn't sure if it would be pulled off. The opening ceremonies changed all of that for me. It was spectacular!!! I loved it so much. The chinese did so well! And then watching the swimming competitions with Michael Phelps. He did so awesome! Especially when he won by barely a finger tip. I can't believe how good he is. Then watching the gymnastics I had feelings of nervousness for the girls and I was upset with the judges poor judging. It was terrible!! But way to go Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson! Fabulous! Now I'm watching the closing ceremonies, I have a dvr, and it's still just as great. It will be exciting to see how future countries will try to out do them. They won't be able to of course. But overall this has probably been the best I've ever seen. It was really great!

Comments

For those that read my blog please do not comment unless I know you or if you have a good comment. I have this blog to share my life with my family and friends and I don't appreciate people telling me to stick with "useful" information. Why don't you read a book if you want useful information. Maybe try reading "Blogs for Dummies" it might help you to understand what blogs are all about.

Family & 10 Year High School Reunion

So I had my 10 year high school reunion this last weekend. It was ok. There were still some of those that think they are better than the rest. I was surprised at the ones that were mean or not nice to me in high school that actually said Hi and talked to me. Overall I had a good time and it was great to see the family. Here are some pictures of my trip.

I also went to the Zoo with my Sister Mariah, her daughter Abby, my Mom, and my Gramama. Here are some photos of that trip.

Overall it was a great trip and I was happy to have seen all those loved ones that I did. My sister Megan will be coming in from Hawaii in September so I will get to go again then. Yah!

My wedding dress

I found it! My wedding dress! I've been looking for a picture of it ever since I saw it on PS I Love You. Here it is. I am so excited to finally have a picture of it. And it's modest! Yah!

A great life

No pictures this time seeing as how I'm writing from my friends laptop and none of my pictures are on here. Basically I just wanted to let yall know what's been going on. Well I moved...again. Will I ever be able to stay in one place for a long time? But this is good for me. Where I was living before was not working out. Living alone was not all it was cracked up to be. Even if I don't see my roommates it's the fact that there are others here. Plus its cheaper so I can save money for when I get married in a couple years. My roommates are awesome and as soon as I get a picture I'll put one on. We all went and saw Batman last night. It was awesome!!! Heath Ledger did such an incredible job. It's too bad we lost such an amazing person before their time. Today I went and saw Hellboy II and Mama Mia. Both were great films. I've been lucky that I haven't really been to a movie that I don't like in awhile. Maybe I'm just good about choosing movies. Naw that can't be it. I will be attending my, wait for it, TEN YEAR high school class reunion. I cannot believe it has been that long. But it should be fun and I will have some great pictures from it. I am excited to see those that will show up. Since Emerson can't be here to go with me I am taking one of my guy friends so I at least have somebody in case it ends up being a dud. I am also excited to see my family. Living here in Salt Lake doesn't afford many opportunities to see them. But my life is good. Last week I lost a friend of mine in a motorcycle accident. He was the most hilarious guy! It made us all think of how great and good life is. I am thankful for all I have. I have a great life!

Guatemala March 2008

Here are some pictures of when I went back to Guatemala for Easter. It was a lot of fun to see the Catholic traditions. Even though I was only there for Five days I had a blast.

This is me and my BEST friend Mariela. I was already dressed and she comes out of her room wearing pretty much the same thing. It was so funny! We were twins for the night.

Here is am with my brother Donald, he is Mariela's brother. He got married in April and so Mariela and I decided to give him his "bachelor" party. it was just the three of us and we went to Pollo Campero and then the mall at Plaza America. We had fun, especially getting drenched.

Here I am with one of the soldiers. Cool uniforms!

This is one of the "carpets" that the people carrying Jesus walk on. There were a bunch but I liked this one because it was made aunatural.

Here I am with the Priests.

Me and the guys carrying Jesus. They carry him for many, many blocks. And only men can carry Jesus. The woman carry Mary.

Here I am at the park with the outdoor vendors. Good food!

Me and Renato and his sister Dulce. I love him so much!!!

Me and my sister Gaby and her cute as a button boy Jhared.

Yrene, me, Carol, her borther and her borther's Friend at Xetulu.

Mariela and me in front of the Mayan "ruin" at the waterpark in Guatemala. It's called Xetulu.

Goofing around after a day of fun and sun at the waterpark.

Grandma Fernandez.

Aunt Isabel

Renato's family. Little sis, Mom Vicki, Victorino, me, Eduarda, Dulce, and a little girl from the ward. His Dad lives in Los Angeles so I don't have a picture with him. And Renato wasn't there that day becuase he had already gone back to his Grandpa's house where he was living for awhile.

Me and my friend Francis.

Me and my Dad Rene Ramos.

The family of Sister Gloria. I helped build the house behind them when I had been there the previous year.

Me and our dog Yogui.

Me, my brother Ariel and my sister Klarrissa.

Me and my brother Neffi.

Me and my brother Marlon. He and Neffi took me to the airport when I was leaving.

It was a great trip and I miss all these wonderful people. But I'll see them soon!!