that was a long intermission...

Life gets in the way of blogging I suppose!
A lot has happened since the last posts, but I'm hoping to start writing again, I find this a helpful outlet, and a positive way of sharing experiences with friends and fambly.

We now live HAPPILY as Hubba-Hubba and Espice-a (pronounced Eh-spice-Ah.) On 11.11.11, I married the man of my dreams on a cold and rainy day! With friends and fambly around us, we read our personal vows to each other and danced the night away. It has now been a year since our wedding, and wow, was that first year unusual! I'm glad that this second year has built on our strength and connectedness. We learned a lot about forgiveness and compromise in the first year, as marriage is a test of our commitment to each other. We're so happy living in our lil' home with our Holley girl, and we're dreaming of all the wonderful plans we will create together. It is true that everyday, your love deepens for each other; I'm more in love with Hunter now, than I was eight years ago. 

THANK YOU: to the wonderful Kacie Jean, our magical photographer! She captured our wedding so beautifully, and we will forever remember these moments. 

On a heavy note, we lost our best buddy this year, Howard. On July 17th, we lost our pup in an accident, and it's been hard to recover... Our BIG dog took a BIG piece of our hearts with him, but hearing everyone's kind words and memories have made the transition easier. I think about him everyday and remember all the times we cuddled, kissed, whispered, and laughed together.

Currently, Hunter is now the owner of J&S East Valley Garage, specializing in rebuilding engines of vintage and classic cars. His craft is on the verge of extinction with the advancement of machines and computers in the automotive industry, but he clings tight to the importance of Career Technical Education and learning a skilled-craft. He machines all his parts by hand, with no guidance from a computer, the way these vintage cars were intended to be worked on. He is struggling without his supportive mentor, Jay Roach, who passed in January of 2012. Everyday Hunter comes home learning a new lesson about how to run a small business, and slowly, he's getting the hang of the "boss" side of the job, not just wrenching. He's doing a wonderful job maintaining the integrity of the shop.

Jessica is continuing with her Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Pacific Oaks College and working for Santa Barbara City College's Orfalea Early Learning Center. I've struggled with finding job security and future potential, as the economy has taken a toll on educational budgets again... It's frustrating! College graduates WITH experience not able to maintain their job, find full-time work in their field, or create new possibilities is almost IMPOSSIBLE these days. I, for one, am hoping for a change soon! Teaching is not simple my passion, but my contribution to our community. I believe in continuing education, creating best-practices for young children, supporting families in need, and reaching out to our community, our country, and our world for service. 

Over the past few years, we have adventured to Mexico, Arizona, Oregon, Yosemite, Nevada, and Utah. We visited Oregon for my nephew's graduation from HIGH SCHOOL! Can you believe that? My time flies quickly! Hunter's visited Bonneville a few times and worked on the world-record holder for Open-Wheeled Lakester speed. And, my little brother, Justin, is thinking about moving to Arizona and working on the cattle ranch that my family frequently visits! This year, Hunter and I, along with my mom and her boyfriend, Bill, will be adventuring to GUATEMALA! We are so excited to immerse ourselves in a new culture and explore the volcanoes, rainforest, and open-air markets.

For anyone who is wondering, Hunter and I are not anticipating bringing a baby into our lives just yet. We have thought over every little detail, and there is no doubt that we are "ready," and we are so excited for when that day does come. However, now is just difficult timing. School and work have made it difficult to set a stable home routine, and we want to provide the best care and attention to our children when it's the right time. So, for now, it's just us two! Well, and HOLLEY! But, here are some cute reveal ideas that my friends have come up with! There is lots of LOVE in the air lately!

We are so blessed to be surrounded by caring friends and fambly who fill our lives with laughter and love. I hope to share this laughter with others around us, as we truly believe: "a laugh a day, keeps the doctor away!" It's so important to smile and to choose happiness.

dazzle me.

Last weekend, my girlfriends invited me to take a girls trip out to Vegas! After all the stress from work, I desperately desired a weekend out of town! Oh boy, I didn't know what I was in for...

Chelsea and I left after a full-day at work, around 6:30. Everything was going smooth, then we hit Baker... a SEMI-TRUCK CAUGHT ON FIRE!! We were in stopped traffic for just over two-hours. My clutch heated up so badly, that it's now a bit warped. I was so tired, but we pressed on! We finally arrived in Las Vegas around 3:30 in the morning! At least we got to get all dolled up and walk around a bit. Bright Lights, Big City...

A sigh of relief escaped while walking down the hallway on floor twenty of the Flamingo Hotel, when we heard the faint scream of Aubree, Tessa, and Natasha quieted by the loud music escaping from room fifty-eight. Immediately, we were excited to have a drink and find an adventure.

The next day, we ate some yummy room-service breakfast, and walked around the strip some more. Aubree fought Darth Vader and then we stopped into the Bellagio to check out Dale Chiluly's glass blown exhibit!

bei colori.

i loved this new umbrella exhibit. so beautiful!

We also walked through the beautiful observatory at the Bellagio. There were so many beautiful flowers and butterflies! The water exhibits were beautiful also - not just the fountains in the front, but the water streams in the observatory. I recommend an afternoon stroll through there if you ever get a chance. 

girlies. 

love.

However, I do not recommend trying to walk from the Bellagio to the Hard Rock HOTEL... because you'll just get lost and end up eating at the Hard Rock RESTAURANT, which is only three blocks away! We ate some delicious burgers, even though I was sad we didn't get to go tequila tasting at the Pink Taco. 

Afterwards, Chelsea and I split from the rest of the girls in search of a tea lounge at the Mandarin Oriental hotel - my cousin Shannon recommended that we check it out. The hotel was peaceful serenity only steps away from the business of the strip. We ran in from the beginning of a random rain shower, the lobby was all black marble tile, with two elevators perched on the right wall. We rode up to the "sky terrace," and immediately were thinking, "uh-oh, don't think we can afford this..." But, we sat down at a nice table by a window over-looking the strip. After being handed a menu where the cheapest pot of tea cost $16 dollars, and four cupcakes cost $24, we quickly excused ourselves and returned, embarrassed down the elevators. 

After a long and rejuvenating nap, we painted our faces, let our curls down, and strapped our high heels on... to TAO. I had never been to Tao, but the south-east Asian theme proved to be beautiful and spectacular. Good drinks, great music, good dancing - a drummer and a sky-acrobatic-person!! It was the coolest experience ever. We danced our hearts out under falling confetti, only feet away from Nikki Hilton (... not that I really care... *snicker*)

so purty!

sick drummer-dude.

sky-acrobatic lady.

After Tao, we met up with Aubree's friends who live in Las Vegas at the Artisan hotel. Hunter stayed there once before when he was there for the drag races, and he warned me as to its... well, peculiar-ness. All black walls with mirrors on the ceiling... TECHNO music blaring. It was actually pretty cool. I met some really nice people, and it was nice to hang out with locals instead of being squished in a club all night. (plus, the margarita was better and cheaper!)

We came home the next day - after sleeping in until one o'clock in the afternoon. Sitting in traffic for two more hours before the Nevada border, then driving through the hail in California, made it a relief to get home to my fambly. I missed Hunter, Holley, Ratchet, and Howard. We even had a mini gift exchange:

Hunter and the boys started my wall decal for me! It's not finished, but it was very sweet of them to start it for me - it's a lot of work!!

and all I got him was a stupid t-shirt and a shot glass, haha.

st.patrick's day clearance... i'm a bad fiance. lol

Being away from them, even just for a weekend, re-affirmed how much I love them and need them in my life. Even though it was good to have some fun with the girls!!

Thank you Natasha, Aubree, and Tessa for inviting us, and thank you Chelsea for being my co-piolet! Love you, girls!

photo credit: natasha dee (thanks!)

we're going on a bear hunt!

It's hard to believe, but my baby-boy, Howard, is officially an adolescent! One-year old, are you kidding me!? He's the size of a bear, and he's going to continue growing; hoe-lee, moe-lee. I'm so blessed to have Howard - most of you know the struggle we had at the beginning, but now, Howard is such a big part of our lives. He is my family, and I love him so much. So, cheers to you, Howie. May you have a long, joyful life with us!

my prince.

the birphdae goods.

extra-luff from uncle justin!

Thank you to all our friends & family who came to celebrate with us! We had a lot of fun celebrating Howard's special day.

*nom, nom*

FINALLY!

FINALLY! My own space! For Crafts! For Reading! For Storage: all of my children's books, teaching supplies, craft supplies, etc! My Hubba-Hubba helped me to build a desk, shelving, and create my own space in our home! We're not quite finished, we're also re-doing Hunter's office (now that all my shtuff is outta there!) Here are some pictures of the experience.

Here we are building and painting the supports for my desk! We love doing hands-on projects at Casa De Dork; we're building a Bar-B-Que for the backyard, and we've built garden boxes, dog houses, and supports for the storage above the garage. Basically, I watch HGTV too much, so Hunter has a big "Honey-Please-Do List!"

 

 

 

I got the idea for the shelving from David Bromstead's Color Splash, a show on HGTV. They are more for display rather than function, but I thought they turned out really fun! It gave me just enough space to shelve my children's books, Early Childhood Education textbooks, and leisure reading books.

 

 

 

The white block shelving, we picked up from Home Depot. It's made by Martha Stewart, but they're not too bad: easy to put together and pretty sturdy! I'm in love with my desk! Hunter did such an amazing job - I'm so lucky to have a man's man around to build things for me! Of course, I had to add some girlie touches with the painting though. Most of the paint we had left over from when we painted the house! We bought chalkboard paint at Home Depot - great idea, right? Too bad it's been a pain in the royal bee-hind! Two-coats, three days of drying, four days of letting a full chalk-up settle, wipe it clean, wash it, and chalk it again! I'm still not done prepping it! Hopefully, it will turn out as planned. My Sewing Cart was refurbished from my Microwave Cart in my first apartment (we've been trying to make use of furniture and materials that we already have to save money!)I got great ideas from Real Simple Magazine on how to store materials in a craft room; for example: put ribbons canisters on a wire hanger for ease use and storage, and sort beads and writing utensils into mason jars for ease use and unique storage! 

So far, everything is coming out great! Thank you, Hunter! I am a lucky girl to have such a loving boy!  

oh, my darling honey bee

Happy 4th Birthday, to our queen bee, miss Holley! 

We are fortunate to have such a loving and loyal shmupert, like Holley. Hunter and his sister, Ellen, picked Holley out of a beautiful yellow-lab litter up on the Mesa after she had rested her lil' head on Ellen's sneakers... it was just about the cutest thing we've ever seen. She is compassionate, hard-working, and very silly! From greeting our friends & family at the door with lots of kisses, to snuggling up close for bed. From fetching tennis balls until she can't breathe to biting at the air-compressor nozzle. From sit, down, stay, shake, high-five, "dry," roll-over, "bang," "up-up," wait, "nose-down," to speak. She is just about the best dog a lil' fambly could ask for.

"I have to speculate that God himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle piece made from the clay." We fit together like peanut butter & jelly. Holley, may you live a long, full, and loved life. We adore you, baby girl! 

This picture is from Holley's 1st Birthday, but it describes it all, "I'm a DORK-FISH!!" ...just like mama and daddy! I love how happy she looks! Thank you, Tessa, for taking such a wonderful picture!

Holley's "birthday cake" consisted of yummy Eagle Pack Large Breed Formula Dog Food, Scrambled Eggs, Vitamin C powder, and some yummy dog treats!

Holley loves opening presents - this year we gave her some big rawhide bones, a duck honker-toy, some treats, and a kong with peanut butter! Lucky Girl!

*Nom Nom* Loving her Birthday Dinner!

Uncle Gary bought a GIGANTOR rawhide bone for miss Holley! Too bad Howard ate it the next day...


All in all, it was nice to spend a day celebrating such a wonderful pup. She gives and gives; it was nice to treat her to a day full of love! Thank you for your amazing-awesomeness, Holley Girl!