JulyAugust 2014 Officially half the year has gone by :S

Time just keeps flying bye :( before we know it, it will be Christmas again and we have to do all that shopping and spending money :(  #lucklyIlovetoshop:)

We started off July right.  We didn't do much, but we went to South Coast Plaza and I got spoiled :) We went to the Burberry store.  I sent my Burberry purse off to get fixed and bought a new strap for my watch., and he bought me Burberry shades.YES I have Burberry belongings :)
Then after I got spoiled B wanted to watch the USA soccer game so we went to the Finish Line Sports Grill in Pomona :)  We had a GREAT time and spent all day there.  Then I was off to group.  Yes I still participate in the TBI group.  It is actually beneficial hearing other peoples stories. 

Free Beer and survinourss were given out at the Bar :)

We spent the 4th of July at home at our block party but REALLY debated on hitting the water but then thought about it again and where not willing to deal with the crowd.  So I extended a LATE invite out to people to come celebrate with us.  And, as expected A LOT of people already had plans :( But, not everyone :) So, we participated in the block party again this year and made the most of it.  And, then unexpectedly no one called or showed up :( So we never had to even break out the grill because our neighbors had plenty of food to go around.  So, now we have plenty of left overs :( No good :( So, we are debating on extending the invite next year.  But, we will still be here participating with our neighbors :)

 Set up for the Block Party :) The Block Party was in full effect :)

My bro-Sean came by with his fam and it was GREAT to see our god-son enjoy the fireworks :)
We were expecting like 10 heads but these 3 only showed up :( I'm glad someone showed up :(

 Then on the 5th we went to a BBQ at the hubbys bosses house and had a GREAT time.  I think this is the first time the hubby loves his team of co-workers.  I think he has officially made some new friends and they are all GREAT ;) It was great meeting a whole lot of new people and having a GREAT time :) We didn't do much but hang out all day/night and eat GREAT food.  But, it was assume to meet SO many GREAT people :) and, the hubby's job has officially ended for him :( So he has worked himself to unemployment :( and, its funny cause I have SO many mixed emotions about it all :S. My mixed emotions is incredible.  Its funny and GREAT that we still get to live our GREAT life on only one income.  Yes I get SSDI now and get paid for doing nothing which is GREAT but its only like 60% of what I use to make so not nearly enough.  So, I am all about working the system to my advantage.  So, I'm still in the process of getting my student loans taken care of which has sucked :( but yes I want a free education.  There are still several other things I'm working on too :) I'm just trying to use my disability to its advantage.

Hanging out at the BBQ :) I loved meeting his co-workers :)

 My garden is coming a long wonderfully too.  I love that its producing.  I have cut up and frozen bell peppers, they are frozen and in the fridge and on the tree.  They are everywhere..  Our tomato tree is growing Grape tomatoes like crazy too. I keep them in the fridge and there is a bunch on the tree still.  We planted a big tomato tree last month and it has a bunch of flowers and starting to produce too :) I also planted cantaloupe seeds last month and we have a cantaloup.  That damn bush grows like crazy too.   Our Jalapeno tree is producing like crazy too.  We also have them everywhere too.  These naturally grown Jalapenos are so darn HOT though.  Only one that I don't know what to do about is my grape tree.  I bought it with grapes on it and it started producing more but now there is none so I think the birds got to it.  So, I have no idea what to do about it.  We also have greens out there and they have been producing like crazy too.  We have so many greens frozen.  I pick some, cut them up and freeze them all the time, like everyday  We currently have 12 big bags frozen and a big bowl in the freezer.  Then we have some in the fridge too :) So, we went ahead and invested in a deep freezer so I can freeze EVERYTHING:)  The hubby's dream is  coming true I think we will have some of it like ALL THE TIME, like EVERYDAY.  I love producing and the therapeutic aspect of it all :) We also have green onions out there.  So, I don't know if I need to put anything else out there.  Our plan is to buy a plum tree but for the garden I think I want to add cucumbers.  I love that my grocery list is going down slowly but surely :)

 Someone was sick again in July :( So, we had to take him into the Vet.  I don't like to admit it but I think he might be on his last leg :( Rots are only supposed to last 7-8 years statistically, and we have had this BIG puppy for going on 9 years now.  He SO lives a good life and I think that's why he has lasted us :)  I don't even want to think about how it will be when he has to leave us :(  We LOVE him so much so that's why we spend the money on him.  My biggest regret is not having Pet Insurance but the next dog will. 

I've still been on the workout grind too :) It's incredible it is SO apart of my life now :) I can't seem to break my lowest weight to date which is 139.9 :) I work out really hard too :( and thankfully I am satisfied but still :S I just don't post it all the time like I use too :) my workout now consist of the following, minimally 30 minutes on my elliptical :) some days I do up to 90 minutes.  An AB challenge I stool from my cousin, an Arm workout that I do and a  leg workout that I do and a ladder workout that I found.  My easiest days are Tuesday and Thursday and my hardest days were I be drenched in sweet are Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I just still go at it but stay light on the weekends :)  I'm glad I have been able to hit my goal of 140 but still would like to hit my ultimate goal of 135 and I've done everything.  I workout hard everyday and have been on a detox diet before so I don't know what to do.  Any ideas?  I so don't want to starve myself either.  I also enjoy the therapeutic aspect of staying active.  It's something to do :)I found all my workouts on my IPAD.  I love that thing :) The best gift ever :)  I think we are going to invest in a smart tv too cause they have this workout app on there too :)

Williams Family Reunion

Family Reunion
We also got to enjoy the Williams family in July.  We attended a banquet and a picnic.  It was great to get to know a lot of new people and learn about Brandon's family history.  It's incredible to here the stories of where he came from.  Brandon was in amazement too.  It's incredible.  Next year they are supposed to host the family reunion in Dallas,Texas.  So Brandon wants to go to that too.  They host it every year and Brandon wants to be apart of it every year.  It's incredible to see how family orientated he is :)

 Then right before we went on vacation I got my ring cleaned.  Its amazing at the difference there is in it.  It's like I got a whole new ring.  I LOVE IT :) It is so shiny and sparkly :)

 We also invested in some new porch furniture.  We figured we had to invest.  Might as well.  The house looks great with the new windows and the paint job and the porch.  All of which my dad did which has been GREAT :) We have done a lot in the last couple of months.  So I figured might as well make it look complete and invest.  I don't know if I will add anything else.  Any ideas?  I'm kind of thinking nice vases on the side of each chair with fake greenery to make it look nice, but I don't know.  Or maybe a fake plant on the table or something.  I just want it to look REALLY nice.

Overall our vacation has GREAT but sucked in the beginning.  It sucked because we got to a rough start.  We were supposed to originally leave Wednesday 7/23/14 but our flight got canceled because they were having mechanical issues.  So we changed it to in the morning 7/24/14..  Then that flight got pushed back until 5pm.  I SWEAR it SUCKED to try to go on vacation.  We have already been at the airport 2x and they say the 3x is a charm and it has finally worked out for us.  But still :(

#selfie :S  I got my hair braided so I wouldn't have to deal with the humidity in the south

Me and Bs grandma #astrongwomen

 B and his grandma :)

 Outing to Heroes

Cousin Outing :)

 We went fishing and their is still oil out there :(

 We went fishing at Cedar Point and had a GREAT time :)

 Sunset :) I caught like 2 fish :S B and his dad caught the most :( but so happy I at least caught one :)

NOLA  brewery we went to New Orleans for the weekend and the hubby had to check out the breweries out there :) It was actually fun.  I love experiencing new things with my best friend/hubby

 I'm a lucky girl :)

:) 

 New Orleans had this great drink called the Grenade so I had to have one :) I also had a Hurricane, I had to see what new Orleans had to offer:)  Which was a lot :) We had a GREAT time :)  We ate A LOT of GREAT Cajun food too :) and I gained like 4 lbs :( Not Cool :(  But it was so worth it.  I think to date this and then going to Catalina and New York a couple of years ago has been the BEST ever:) I love experiencing new adventures with Brandon it is so worth it :)

In New Orleans they had a Casino and we played Black Jack and got the trip paid for :)  

Then on our way back we stopped in Biloxi again  and didnt do to well :( This was our second time being in Biloxi.  We originally went there the week before to watch his dad play with his band :)

Then right before we came to California we went up north to go help his grandma out with his cousin :S There was a mess up there that needed to be cleaned up :S I was helping but all I could think of is who goes on vacation to clean up :S

Its funny we had a great time but its funny how worried we were about the house and ESPECIALLY the dogs and my garden.  Thankfully my parents took care of all of that for us but I would constantly ask them about the dogs.

We came back from vacation in August and jumped back into thing.  We were able to baptism this prince :) Its incredible the feeling of joy you get when you get to baptize someone :) I don;' even think that his parents know how touched we are that they asked us to be his god-parents :) Thank you guys for the blessing :)

and B has this new dish he learned from his dad and LOVES to cook it :)

a yummy treat he learned from his Dad :) Shark Bites:) weve already had it like 3 times just becaus.

We hung out just because at BWW #wecanstilldothingsjustbecause #Soblessed

 Selfie #meandmybestfrined:)

 Then on we went to a memorial in Malibu and spent the day with friends.   We had a GREAT time but that drive was no fun :S Then the next day we celebrated my sis Jamilas birthday in Laguna Beach and had another GREAT time :)

I am such a coupon clipper now :) We don't do anything without a coupon these days :) I wonder how those extreme couponers do it  :S  anyone know?  I want to become an extreme couponer :)

 B the Birthday girl and myself #fabulouspicture:)

Centerpieces and all the decor was fabulous :) my sister did a good job :)

It was  a frozen pool party :) my neice/goddaughter turned 6 years old this year.  Such a BIG girl and she started kinder this year too.  They are getting so BIG time flies :S #myneiceiscuterthenyours:) #stayblessedpeople:)

Then we were off to a friends birthday party :) And we had A LOT of fun there and B was able to play a little bit of poker :)

this prince just turned a year :) So blessed :) #timeflies

 We had to miss our god sons 1st bday and we were bummed but we got to see him as soon as we got back :) We went on another mini-vacation :) Had to get our last river run in since it is the end of the summer :)  So we went to Laughlin and had a good time with friends :)  We went to this restaurant called Salt Grass and it was good and I had a good drink there too :) #tropicalsangria:)

 Lake Mojave :) #BEstlakeweknowof #youcangotolaughlinandgetitALLin:)

 End of the Summer 2014 :( #endedthesumeronthewater:)

This Prince is 5 months today 9/1/2014 :) Its incredible how much love you can have for someone even though you are so far away :S

Its been an INCREDIBLY but Blissful 2 months :) Stay Blessed EVERYONE ;) XOXO

June 2014 an amazing fun filled month :)

Someone is 3 months today :) time is just flying bye.  I can't wait to finally hold him.  He is a good  chunky happyy baby since his surgery.  XOXO Lots of props to my brother for helping make this little piece of heaven and his wife Jessica for having him :)

Its been another great month and we had a lot of things going on this month.  Starting off 6/1/14.  It  is the day we meet :) 12 years ago. Then we went to Catalina for our 3 year wedding anniversary. Incredible it doesn't feel like its been that long but, it has been. Sometimes I feel like I just got married I think we are so still in the honeymoon phase..  There wasn't much to do out there but it was still fun as HELL :) so glad we got to officially celebrate.  Then we got to go to a Dodger game this month with my bro and the family.  We had such a good time.  And my niece Ellie belly graduated preschool this month and did such a great job at her graduation and we had a great time..  Then, June 14 B had a friend open a bar with craft beers.  So we went to the opening.  Then we did Taco Tuesday with friends for a friends birthday.  Then, it was Father's Day. We did it big over here.  We had shrimp with steak and my hubby did a god job on the grill. 

We got to see our god son because they celebrated with us.  Then we were off to Laughlin.  Our river crew is back in full effect.  We had a lot of fun and it's been 2 years since I've driven the jet ski but the hubby let me and said I did a decent job.   My cousin Evelyn came out here to work/visit so I was able to get some cousin time in too.  Then at the end of the month we went to a baby shower and partied all night.  We had such a good time.  I was cracking up and having flash backs when B was doing his karaoke.  Especially when he did the top gun song.  There are so many little miracles here and so many more to come.  I think its an age thing.  I guess we are at that point in our life where everyone is having kids and its GREAT :)

The garden is still coming along nicely. I am finally reducing my grocery shopping.  We have A LOT of grape tomatoes, regular tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, okra, greens, green onions, and papaya growing out there.  I like the therapeutic aspect of it all. It keeps me active, I love producing.  I gotta figure out if I want to add anything else out there.  Any ideas?
It has taken me a long time but I think I have finally come to terms with my injury.  It took me a little over 2 years.   I am still handling a lot of business over here and try to be productive.   And, at the end of the day I look at things like this.  God has a reason for everything and even though the reason may be unknown take it for what it is,  Yeah I did a lot and accomplished a lot but it was all the direction I was supposed to take in order to deal with what is coming.  So, of course it sucks not working some days but I qualified for Social Security Disability so I get paid for being home and doing nothing.  And, thankfully the hubby stays on the grind in order for us to live the good life we do.  So, ultimately nothing much has changed.  I just get to stay home and continue to get paid to do nothing. 

Still on my workout grind too.  It was a bad month last month but I still got it in.  I'm feeling better about it now and still getting it in.  I just can't seem to break my lowest weight to date either and I have been working out really hard too.  I'm glad 'Im doing a good job and when people see me they say they see a deference and thankfully I don't have to starve myself to see progress.  Its all about my healthy choices. 

To date the happiest day of my life :)

Catalina

Great anniversary gift idea I stool from a friend :) Thanks Gabe :)

Bottomless mimosas were bought when we were in Catalina and I so enjoyed it :). I don't drink that often ever since my injury so I'm such a light weigt.

                                On Catalina Island we rented a golf cart and did our own sight seeing:)

 

Our little bundle of joy Isaiah :) our god son :) 

Hollywood Bar grand opening.  It is in the heart of Hollywood and we had a good time :)  The Bar is called Ball and Chain :)

Summer Laughlin  Run :) I love lake Mojave.   I can't wait to go back but we are really busy in July so it might not be until August :( I'm looking forward about the events we have coming up but sad about now hitting the water :( #mixedemotions

 Garden that is coming along nicely

Lowest Weight to date.  For some reason even though I workout really hard I stay at this weight.  But I'm so Happy about it because I've been able to hit my goal.  But, disappointed to not hit my ultimate goal.  I SO do not want to starve myself in order to hit it.  I just like living the active lifestyle.  Working out is so a part of me now.  When I don't do it which is not often I miss it and am so disappointed in myself.  Then some other days I'm not up to it but still get it in and feel better afterwards :)

Cousin Time :) I feel like a midget next to Emilio and he is only 13.

We are all a great family :)

 Baby Shower fun :) they had the best sports theme ever :) it was so cool and we had a GREAT time :) I had flashbacks of B and Sean when he got on the karaoke machine :) It was such a good time :) we got there around 2:30pm and didn't leave til around 2:30am :S 

So its been a fun busy month.  It looks like we will be busy next month too.  But , like I said I look forward to it :)  So, sorry if I forgot any events which I don't think I did.  Just still working on my memory over here.  I hope everyone else has had a good year so far too :) XOXO