Giving the Lord Equal Time

As I was sitting on my living room this evening, I decided to turn to good ol' BYU TV.  Elder Ballard was giving a CES firside talk.

I wasn't able to hear his entire talk, but he said something that caught my ear :  Are we giving the Lord EQUAL time?  (you can listen to his talk)

As I was reflecting on his words I realized and recognize that it is very very easy not to give the Lord EQUAL time.  I have to work more actively to give the Lord at least equal time. 

I also realized how there must be a balance on all things.  Elder Ballard didn't say we needed to give him ALL our time, but just equal time.  

I am grateful for a loving, and understanding Father in Heaven. He really is aware of me and knew I needed a husband that would make it easier for me to slow down and not be so busy.  He knows John brings balance into my life.  I know I am not perfect and need to do better in living the basic doctrine. I'm glad we have apostles who reminds of the things we should be doing.

A Picture is worth a 1,000 words

Let the force be with you...

       Today gave me a glimpse of what the future with children will look like.  In the morning I woke up to an empty bed, and though oh John must be studying.  I was going to be so proud of him.  Well... it turned out he wasn't studying he had just woken up earlier than me so that he could get some time in to watch Saturday Morning Cartoons and play some video games.  After I woke up, we cleaned the house, and made some breakfast (it was really lunch time, but we ate breakfast), and then we decided that we would head up to alpine to go and do our laundry.  On the way up to Alpine we drove through the Alpine loop and survived a snow storm going over the top.

       On our way down from the top of the Alpine Loop we drove through a curtain of rain. We literally were driving down the hill and it was sprinkling a little, and we looked out the window and saw one half of the sky empty and the other half was a gray curtain of rain.  When we drove in the the curtain it was as though we drove into a car wash! Well, needless to say we made it out alive thanks to John's awesome car driving skills.

       While we were doing our laundry at mama nash's house we were able to enjoy how beautiful the area is. The colors on the trees were still brilliantly colorful, and the clouds were so low, it felt like we were in a dream and living in the clouds, like the care bears, only a little less 80's. I wish i knew how to use John's camera better so that I could have captured the moment better, since John was busy as always studying Arabic.

       On the way home John and I stopped at Williams-Sonoma.  I think it is one of John's favorite store and this is the reason why:

Yes, they are StarWars cookie cutters!  I have to admit, they are pretty nifty. We ended up spending our Halloween making cookies, and well eating them.  We were going to take some to our Visiting and Home Teachees, but we didn't make any frosting, so we are going to decorate some tomorrow and deliver them.

I am excited to see if my future will be like Saturday morning; sleeping in while John and the kids are watching saturday morning cartoons/video games while living in the clouds.  Knowing John he will make sure there is a Care Bare movie in our home to make it real for me.

Tonight I made sugar cookies all by myself in my Blue Steel kitchen aid.  I didn't realize that the dough needed to be thick so the cookies could turn out soft.  I soon learned that after my second batch.  Here are some pictures.  For those who are close we might just have to have a starwars party and make you some awesome cookies. Just kidding... I don't have the right program on my computer so, come back later and you'll see our pics!

to stay or not to stay.....

I feel like my life is like a box of chocolates at times. Never gonna know what you gonna get.... For this week the new "chocolate flavor" is whether or not to stay or go to Egypt for the full semester next year. Jen, you might have some good advice for me.

Before we got married, I knew I was going to be away from John for at least 3 months, and I was ok with that. I figured I would work and save up so we can both enjoy a month out in Egypt and not have to worry about my bills. I know he will be taking 15 credits and will be super busy trying to take in the culture, go to school for at least 6 hours, and then study for at least another 5. I would be busy with Festival stuff and with my Health Fair in October. Needless to say I would have enough to do and wouldn't have a lot of time to be "sad." Besides what would I do in Egypt, I would get so bored if I didn't have anything to do. I would go crazy!!! I don't know Arabic, so I would be lost.

This week as John was at his speaking appointment with Mike, he found out some interesting information:
*A previous student said the biggest mistake he made was not brining his wife to the study abroad.

*Those husband who didn't have their spouses during the semester were more prone to depression

*They felt the extra expen$e is worth having their spouse

Now the pressure is on. I would love to go to Egypt, but I am not a student that can just take off a semester and then come back to study. I actually have my biggest projects those first weeks. I have programs to run and people to keep alive.. (J/K :))

John would like me to go, and who wouldn't. I would make life so much better, and hey I might even teach Zumba out there! ( I already checked and there are 4 different places near Cairo that teach Zumba.) He is very understanding though, and knows I have work and the extra $$ wouldn't hurt anyone.

As we have been reading the reviews of previous wives, I feel like I could be doing something out there. Some of them worked with NGO's and projects and were able to experience the culture even more so than their spouses. Which would be super cool. I could learn some great cuisine out there too...

On the other hand, so much can happen from now until next August. My current Executive Director might resign and not be around. If that were to happen I don't know if the new Director would allow me just to get up and leave for 4 months and then come back. My program assistant might be going on to Grad school next fall so that wouldn't be good. I wouldn't have anyone who I could trust to keep the work going.

To stay or not to stay... that will be the new chocolate for us. There will be a lot of learning in the process and a lot of prayers of faith. I am sure the Lord has a plan for us, and I hope I can have enough faith to act upon it.

Centro Hispano

 

So what do you do now?

I work for Centro Hispano....

I would of never thought I would be still living in Provo, married, and working for a non-profit. But I am and I love it! (maybe not so much the Provo part, but definitely the married and the non-profit part) I work for one of the best organizations in the world. Centro Hispano is a place where we help the community with information, referrals, and skills to help them improve their life.
I think I get to work in the best program we have to offer. My program is called ¨Your Health in Action¨ Pretty catchy don´t you think. I came up with it. I get coordinate and teach ZUMBA classes, yoga classes and aerobic classes. I never imagined being an instructor since I consider myself to be more of a sporty girl. One that loves to play soccer and run when it rains, not one that wears spadix, or short booty shorts. But here I am... dancing my little heart for an hour. If you haven't tried ZUMBA, you should try it.
I love to ZUMBA with the ladies, they are mostly older ladies who want to be in better shape. They love to laugh and yell; which makes my job so much more enjoyable.
I also get to find new recipes that are healthy and delicious and teach the community that eating healthy doesn't mean eating bland food. I am in charge of putting together Health Fairs and kids events and bring needed medical resource and screenings the community might not have access to otherwise.
My newest project is called RESPIRAUTAH, which is a statewide coalition/network to help educate and reduce the use of Tobacco in the Hispanic community. So I get to fight big tobacco and let my people know how harmful it is and the new ways big tobacco is trying to get them addicted.
I love my co-workers they are so much fun, and I don't mind not having the perks of a higher-paying job, with better benefits. I am happy knowing there are ladies in my program who have lost 50% of their body fat in the last 6 months, lost 25 lbs in 4 months (exercising and eating healthier), 15 lbs in 3 months with no change in their diets, or their doctor taking them off their hypertension medication. That is priceless.  BTW, all our classes are FREE.  I'll be posting videos of my Zumba classes so watch out!!

I am so grateful for my job and for the amazing opportunities I get to make the world a better place.  I am also grateful for a husband that is supportive of my many projects and allows me to work on them!  

Sesame Street: Smell Like A Monster

So here I am trying to be all spiritual and as I am expressing my problem of youtube and blogs, John ask if I was trying to upload the following video.... Men...

Since I think I figured it out here is my husband first video post. It is making fun of the old spice ads that can be pretty funny.

enjoy

Continue in Patience

Continue in Patience

Continue in Patience


It is truly amazing what happens when you obey the commandments and wait patiently. I have repeatedly told myself to be patient in hopes that this great Christlike attribute will be part of who I am.

Remembering 9/11/2001

Back in those days I would get up in the morning and go to the BYU gym to work out. I lived in the Terrace a block away in the Blue Velour apt. (correct me if I am wrong, mel and jen) I remember finishing up my set of bench press and going to do sit-ups when I heard the news. I was confused and didn't understand fully what had happened. When I went home I turned on our TV and saw the news. It has been 9 years now and so much has happened since then. I don't consider myself very patriotic, but I am very grateful for John for educating me, and for the example of my friends who are very patriotic.
I am grateful for our freedom and I know this country was founded by inspiration. I am grateful for the ability to choose what I believe and how I live my life. I am grateful for the people who fight to keep us protected. Good bless America!

Surving the Festival

I am starting to recuperate from the our long weekend. After a year of planning with the Festival Committee we finally had the opportunity to see everything come to life. Along with having to take care of the vendor, and any last second emergencies, I had the chance to take some pictures. I took pictures of the performers. Luckily John was also there helping to take pictures. I am not as good as he is. He did such a great job, he captured my Zumba move so perfectly.

We had a lot of good food, some good groups, and a variety of vendors. It is worth every complaint, long nights, and numerous phone calls as we see people smiling and vendors happy. I am always concerned for our vendors. I wish I had "extra" money to spend and help them have a good profit. Melinda, John, JP, and Brian were there helping out!


One of the entertaining events, are our very own luchadores. I have to say they are one of our biggest hits. Everyone always remembers the wrestlers, especially the men and little boys. I have always been pretty skeptical of wrestlers, but this year I enjoyed their fake moves. Although the flips in the air was pretty cool if you ask me. Who knows maybe we will see the wrestlers on WWE one day. I was pleased with their show and I understand why we have at least 500 people watching their event.
One more successful year! Next year we will have to go BIG since it is our 10th Anniversary. See you there.

happily ever after

I couldn't ask for anything better. We had perfect weather, cool and cloudy in the morning, little bit of rain during our luncheon and then great evening sunshine. I married my perfect "media naranja!" I have new wonderful family. We have been to IKEA, Bed Bath & Beyond, & Macys a few times to get our home sweet home in place. With all the Zumba, BH Roberts, and festival we have managed to keep busy.

John is great! He makes me breakfast the mornings I am running late. He makes sure I am happy in our marriage. He answers my religious questions! He cleans our home. (It is so great to come home after a long day of work to a vacuumed home, where things smell clean and floors are shinny) He makes me laugh, and smile really really big. :) He makes me dinner and when I make dinner he licks his fingers and asks if I can make it again. He knows how to talk to his Mexican wife.

This summer we have visited Yosemite, floated down the provo in a raft that hole, gone to California, seen a good share of movies (first time I see movies so consistently), hiked around the mountains, swam in a pool with floating poo, been to Mad-town a couple of times and seen Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, and White Collar. Its been great a great summer so far!!

If you would like to come over and see our home just give us a call. We might even throw in some dinner.

California

So this past weekend, Angelica and I went to California to visit the Future In-laws as well as pick up the wedding invitations and to go over the plans for the California reception. The Trip was a lot of fun. The whole trip started off with both Angelica and I getting sick with a a sore throat and runny nose. So on no sleep we departed quiet little Provo for Madera, California. We left Provo at around 8:30 on Friday night and arrived in Vegas at about 1:30 am where Angelica and I switched and she started to drive. She drove until we arrived at her Sister's place in the middle of nowhere at around 3:30 am. From "nowhere" her sister drove until we arrived in Madera at around 7:30. All-in-All the drive wasn't that bad.

Saturday proceeded to be a long day full of sleeping by me and well I believe the same for Angelica and her sister. In the evening Angelica and I went to a wedding reception for her cousin in Oakhurst, which is about 30 mins out from Yosemite. The reception wasn't that fun. We arrived just at the end of the marriage ceremony, to see the lighting of the Catholic candles and the release of all of the white doves. I told Angelica that it would have been more entertaining if they had released some hawks at the same time to swoop down and catch the doves. After the doves, the newly wed couple walked off for the next two hours to take pictures, and the real fun of wine drinking began for the rest of the guests.
For about the next hour and a half Angelica and I (mostly me), made comments about the other guests at the wedding, and their particular lack of clothing. During the 2 hours of waiting, aside from making fun of the other guests in their semi-drunk state, Angelica's parents had me take some pictures of them with their siblings and other Family members and friends that they hadn't seen in years. It was fun to see all the older men talking and telling stories to each other, while watching the women flash their "bling" all over the place. It was quite the sight to see for a little Mormon boy.

Sunday, was spent going to church and meeting all of the members of the ward. The whole fiance thing at the others' ward is always interesting because at least for myself, I felt like I was the side amusement show for the day. After church, we went back home and had some wonderful food prepared by Angelica's mom. I stuffed myself full of food, and promptly forgot that Angelica and I were going to have dinner with one of Angelica's old young women's leaders Sister Chavez, about an hour later. It was well worth it. After lunch with Angelica's family we went and visited Sister Chavez, and then from Sister Chavez's home we went to Sister Lucero's home where Sister Chavez and Sister Lucero proceeded to give me all sorts of dirt on Angelica's younger years, and where they also interviewed me to make sure I was good enough for Angelica. Let's just say I passed with flying colors. Sunday night we worked on assembling and cutting wedding announcements.

Monday was spent like the other two days, eating lots of Mom's food. It was great. Aside from eating, we finished assembling and cutting out invitations for Angelica's parents to hand out, and then Angelica, sister, and I departed for home. On the way we stopped for some fresh California produce. We got 40 lbs of the best oranges ever, and sister got several pounds of chocolate covered things. After getting our produce we were driving by another produce stand which Angelica and her sister both wanted to go to in hopes of finding fresh strawberries. As we were exiting the freeway I noticed that there was a sign saying that the farm store had closed a half hour prior to our arriving there, but Angelica and her sister were persistent to get some fresh strawberries. When we arrived at the farm, the fence was still unlocked and so we decided to drive up to see if we could find anyone still in the store so we could buy some strawberries real quick. No one was there but they had this little cutout of fruit to put your heads and take pictures so we decided to stop and take some pictures. While we were taking pictures we saw a truck load of field laborers drive by and leave without noticing us and in the process they locked us inside the farm. I spent about 45 mins trying to unlock the lock on the fence which was one of those locks that have the 4 separate rows of numbers running across which when the number is put in right will unlock.

This lock only had 9,999 different options, and well I think I tried 347 of them before I gave up and my finger was black from turning the dumb little numbers. About an hour after being locked inside and lots of strange stares from people driving by in the outside free world, the workers returned and we were able to make our escape. After that the rest of the drive was relatively boring. We dropped Goya off at her place, and then we continued back home and arrived home on Tuesday morning around 8:30 in the morning.

Hair, eyeliner, and makeup, OH MY!

Ok, so two weeks ago we went to Norma Juarez's for Sunday Dinner and so that Stephanie, Norma's oldest daughter, could play with Angelica's hair and makeup. It was an interesting night to say the least.

Sunday started off great with us trying to make Mom's Spanish rice, but we had a few setbacks. First, we boiled the tomatoes and according to Mom we weren't supposed to boil them. Then we had some issues with the rice itself and so we had to make two different batches of rice. In the end the rice still wasn't like Mom makes it, since it was a little more salty than normal, but, when all was said and done the rice came out really good. We ended up getting to Norma's place a little late, mostly since we missed the turn on the back roads and ended up driving about 5 minutes in the wrong direction before realizing that we weren't in the right place. Dinner ended up being really good. Norma had made some really good chicken, and Suzie made some awesome beans.






After dinner I went and helped Alex hang some shelves in Stephanie's room while Angelica had her hair done, by Stephanie. After I had proven myself as the best shelf holder ever, I went down to see how Angelica's hair and makeup experience was coming along. Her hair actually came out really good. I had some reservations about how her hair was going to look, but Stephanie did a really good job with it. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Following the the hair ensemble, Stephanie began to experiment with makeup on Angelica. In my opinion this didn't go over so well. Stephanie made her first big mistake by asking me what I thought Angelica should wear, so I jokingly said she should wear blue, purple, or green. Unfortunately she took me seriously and proceeded to put blue eye shadow on Angelica. Let's just say that when I was asked my opinion of how it looked I was hesitant to respond, and everyone was upset with my answer. I told everyone that when I saw Angelica wearing the blue eyeshadow it made me think of Mimi for the Drew Carey Show. The girls weren't very happy with me, but luckily Norma came and backed me up some on it. Here's the pick so you can see what I saw.

After a little bit longer she finally had something that would work for the Wedding reception in the evening, but all in all watching Stephanie put makeup on Angelica was a rather scary experience for me. The picture at the beginning of the post was the final result for makeup after a lot of smart remarks by me and about an hour of Stephanie changing and redoing Angelica's makeup.

The start to a new era!!!

After much adieu we have finally created our blog. After only 2 months of arguing, debating, and bickering, about our URL address, and then about another 2 weeks of trying to figure out the title of our blog we, which I (John) still am not thrilled about, we have finally put our extremely interesting lives out on the web. We know, we know you're all so excited to know what we are doing with our lives...so here it is.

We decided that since everyone that we know wants to know what is going on with the Wedding and plans, well realistically everyone that Angelica knows, because lets be honest none of my friends are really that interested in reading about the things that they see Angelica and I doing in the apartment (WEDDING RELATED, NOTHING ELSE...gosh pull your minds out of the gutter), we decided that we would start out with our expeditions of generating the best wedding of the year. Sorry everyone else that Angelica or I may know who has or is getting married this year, but your wedding will fall into 2nd place. We hope that you enjoy reading about our expeditions and enjoy the pictures that we post from said expeditions. Enjoy!

-Angelica and John Nash