Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo! :D

And so 2010 begins :) What a great blessing it is to be alive!

I almost forgot about one of my very favorite Christmas time traditions: I listened to one of my aunt Diana's all-time favorite Christmas songs, and the tears just started flowing like there's no tomorrow! It absolutely amazes me how music can instantly transport you to a completely different time in your life, and suddenly you can see the world the way it was 10, 15 years ago. And you remember it all: every detail, every color, every sound.. when I listened to this song, I saw Diana with a big smile on her face, dancing and singing happily to this song. It makes me realize how much I painfully crave getting in touch with Venezuela again. I need to feel it again, to feel that fire that's so deeply ingrained in our culture. And I need Sam to see it, too. I so badly want to show him that piece of the puzzle, the land that helped shape me and where I lived for over half of my life.

So, I guess this was my first rambling posting for 2010, whoop! ;)

Happy New Year everybody! God bless us all :)

New Year, New Hope?

I'm not exactly sure that this posting has a "point".

Lately I have been hearing a lot of people say, "I can't wait for 2009 to be over, it was horrific." My initial reaction to this was, "why was 2009 so horrible?"; but then of course I'm reminded of the awful situation so many families have been going through: unexpected layoffs, sinking investment values, foreclosures...

I guess it's a little difficult for me to understand because even at the end of my very "worst" years, I've never thought "wow I can't wait until this year is over". Every single event in our life shapes who we are: happy times, bad times, painful ones, joyous ones... and while I'm always happy to celebrate the arrival of a "new" year, I tend to reflect upon the year that's left us and hope that I've become a better person as a result of what I've gone through during the year; that I've done God's will through my actions and thoughts.

Now, I know that Sam and I have been very blessed with good jobs, great families, great friends, and now a home. I often find myself praying that we don't lose focus, that we remain humble, that we don't get lost in the race that life seems to become for so many people, and that God and family remain our #1 priority.

Have I become a better person this year? I hope so... just as much as I see some positive changes in myself, I also see so much room for improvement. In certain ways, I consider myself: a hypocrite; impatient; quick-tempered; selfish; cruel; vain. I guess I'm seeing 2010 as an opportunity to honor God through my thoughts and actions, to catch myself in the midst of sin and pick myself up toward a life closer to Him.

P.S.: Our second anniversary is coming up... I love you Sam, so MUCH. :)

At-Home Catastrophies, Memories, "Heroes"

So as the title of this posting suggests, tonight's events at home unexpectedly tie into the show "Heroes". It's a GREAT science fiction-type show! I'm not usually a fan of SF, but this show I love. :)

Today I decided to finally bring in my timesheets from June 2008 all the way to now, so that I can start going through them to record my IDP (Intern Development Program) hours; I need to do this--not to mention go to grad school--to someday become an Architect. I took about 2 inches thick worth of timesheets and stuck them all inside a big 3-ring binder to make it easier to carry. I succeeded getting into my car in the rain, while holding my purse, my lunchbox, the binder and my umbrella. Once home though, I try to get out of my car and SPLAT! Out of the binder fly all the timesheets. I initially got frustrated and even thought about asking Sam to come help me pick up the mess, but I told myself to just stay calm and do it myself. I did think it was a little surprising that Sam hadn't come outside to greet me as he usually does...

The second I open the door to the utility room, I see Sam standing in the guest bathroom with a look I hadn't seen before. It's one of those, "You will NOT believe the kind of day I've just had and I'm VERY frustrated" faces. So of course I knew it wasn't good because my Sam's always happy! It so happens that the toilet in the bathroom had overflowed and when I came in he was standing in the middle of a big puddle of toilet water, trying to keep the mess contained. I felt SO bad for him. You see, Sam is amazing when it comes to helping clean the house and all, but he DOES NOT like to clean bathrooms. I instantly forgot about my own tiny, minuscule incident and started helping clean up. Fortunately Sam was able to unclog the toilet and after a bunch of paper towels, old towels, and mopping with Clorox, the bathroom floor is back to its old clean self. I was so impressed with how much Sam was willing to help with the mess! Not only help, but actually clean up a lot of it. The worst thing for him was that he'd done a bunch of things around the house that had been needing to get done so he was eager to show me everything when I got home. And then that happened. Poor Sam!

We couldn't help but laugh about the entire thing later on; at one point I told Sam, "You know, we will probably remember this for the rest of our lives!". Then we started talking about how things like this: happy moments, sad moments, frustrating moments, devastating moments... they all help us grow closer as a couple, we're making memories together and it's beautiful. YES it sounds cheesy, but every once in a while I appreciate cheesy ;) Then I thought about the Haitian from "Heroes", and got to realize just how EVIL his power could be!! He can just touch your head and wipe out an entire life's worth of memories if he chooses to do so.

Anyway.. I loved "seeing" us work together as a team, cleaning everything up, and I loved laughing about it later on. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am one lucky gal :) I can't believe it's been almost two years since we married, and almost six since we first met! I love Sam.

Goodnight!