Living the Life..........

Festivities

2010-10-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

Day three into my new place and we already had some people over for festivities!

I carved my very first pumpkin ever!

It was a lot harder than it looks and the pumpkin guts are SICK! However, we had a great time showing off our new place with no furniture but we had cookies and drinks and counters to sit on.

I feel very festive and I am even thinking about passing out candy.

On another note, I am still not use to sleeping in my new room or bed. So I have been watching movies every night in hope I fall asleep during it. However, I have yet to fall asleep and end up staying up to 2:00am, in which my 7:00am alarm comes way too soon.

New place, new adventures, enjoying life-

New....

2010-10-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

I moved!

I no longer am a 24 graduated professional living with their parents.

However, I cried like a 14 year old little girl when I left my parents home this pass Sunday. In my life there have been times where I tell myself....... "I need to move out, my family is driving me crazy" but from the last time I moved out to the dorms and returned home within two semesters (five years ago) I have never truly pictured myself from moving again. I did spend a summer away from my family but I came for a visit home once and constantly convinced people to come to the bay area to visit me.

So, when I said my goodbye and had a dramatic moment like Laguna Beach when Lauren moves to LA... it was only natural to cry when I put my big sun glasses and waved as I drove away. Although, I then realized I live 15 minutes way from my parents and I really am not alone at my new place, so day 3 living away from home feels okay.

Enjoying life trying to make the new place feel like home....

Life...Events and photos.....

2010-09-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

So life is a little boring/busy right now....I work!~ but that is not the reason for this post.
This is called catch up in photos. Events in my life for the past three months or so.....

Brace yourself,

FAVORITE PICTURES IN MAY
Jonathan and Megan came down for a visit with Charlie!
Josue Graduated high-school!!
My baby brother graduate, which means I'm getting super old.
FAVORITE PICTURES IN JUNE
Jacob went to CHINA!
Ya, my little brother performed in China with the Phoenix Children's Choir. AWESOME

FAVORITE PICTURES IN JULY
Lina turned ONE!
As you can see she enjoyed her party, cake, swimming and everyone's full attention on her!Sadly, Armando's parents moved.
However, we got to spend quality time with them before they left. We miss them all!

Nichole came to visit AZ for the first time!
Nichole is one of my besties from California. She loved AZ and we spent five packed days showing her our beautiful HOT state.
As you can see below we got fake Tattoo's in spirit of our thug side.
Okay, so I still owe you all a couple of pictures but enjoy these for now!

GUILTY!!!

2010-04-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

I know.....I'm guilty as charged. It's been two months since I posted........ it's awful!
Tears......... Tears........... more Tears............. okay I am done!

I'm back and ready to start writing, Please forgive me, let's put this in the past :)
Wait my excuse....... I have none...... except living my life without adventure, working too much and not expressing my feelings. However, my sad two months of boring..ness is over.

So today marks a new day of adventure............two months needed to make up.
Stay tune for day one.

-Living, breathing and trying to enjoy life again.

Drum Roll Please...........

2010-02-03T15:02:00.001-08:00

The day has finally come….my good news. Oh wait so I am a little late but finally I’m back here and still not married :)

I got a new J.O.B, yup its official, I am employed by ASU. In December I started my search for a new job. My contract with AHMI was ending in mid-January and I had no idea what I was going to do. Luckily I had a good friend refer me to a job opening at UMOM. I jumped on the opportunity and sent over my resume and cover letter. A couple of days later I received an email from an employer here at ASU. I was referred by another friend that works for ASU in the Dean’s office. The Student Engagement Department was looking to fill in a position and my name made their list. That same day I got a call from the UMOM employer to set up an interview.

How exciting right, two job opportunities! It was a thrill but it was super hard to make a choice. Each job had their pros and cons, each job sounded great. I talked to family and close friends about the jobs and which one to take. They all had great insight but I knew it was going to come down to me. So instead I prayed, and prayed and prayed and fasted and prayed some more. After much waiting and thinking I was never going to get my answer, I did. It was simple and worked out perfectly. No great voice came down from the Heavens and I didn’t see it in a dream. I felt it and I said it and it felt good. On top of that it all played out exactly how it needed too.

So here I am 2^nd week into the job and I love it.

Enjoy life, enjoying my new job, and enjoying my new adventure,

Great, Amazing, Fantastic, News

2009-12-23T15:08:00.000-08:00

I have some really great AMAZING news.
It's not official so I cant say it on this post.... But I will be posting very soon.

And NO I am not getting married, Let's make that Clear! :(

Can you guess what it is???

How to enjoy the holiday foods!

2009-11-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Let's all give thanks and enjoy our family this holiday season. Love, laugh, and be of good cheer. However, beware of the brownies and other sweeties that loom around your kitchen! With that in mind, here is your "I can make it through the Holidays without gaining weight" check list!

1. Prepare

Choose now what foods you will allow yourself to enjoy. Decide what they will be, when you will be allowed to enjoy them, and how much you will allow yourself. You will get the best results by choosing small amounts, infrequently. Caution! Don't enter the Holiday season defenseless!

2. Strategize

Memorize your holiday rules and pre-determine your strategy of attack to any opposition you might face. Don't forget that It's ok to say "no" when offered goodies from a well-meaning relative or friend! You can always accept it graciously, then give it away to those less fortunate.

3. Stick to it

Stick to your rules. And remember, it's better to stick to 95% of a game-plan, than to not have one at all.

4. Enjoy

There is no greater high than the one you receive from self-discipline. When you feel it, you will strive for that "high" all year long.

Lastly, whatever you do, DO NOT allow yourself to believe that little voice in your head that says, "I'll simply enjoy this food now and diet LATER." Unfortunately, it's not that easy. For when later comes, you will have more than just unwanted body fat. Amongst many other health issues that this may cause, you will have a sluggish digestive system, a sweet addiction to withdraw from, and worst of all, skin that has been stretched from excessive weight. Yuck! Don't listen to that naughty little voice!

Tips courtesy of Pure Fitness Group X Director

Enjoying life trying not to listen to that little naughty voice~

Is this really how the Singles Ward works?

2009-11-25T09:01:00.000-08:00

Let's discuss singles ward drama.

Boy A: Charlie
Boy B: Adam
Girl C: Jane
Girl D: Victoria
(Please note these are fake names to protect the identity of the real messed up people)

I feel like I'm watching Dawson's Creek. Why? Glad you asked!

Charlie and Adam are best friends, actually family and even roommates. They are close, tell each other everything, you know BFF but in guy version.

Well (Oh So Sweet) Adam likes Jane which very pretty, simple and kind overall a good match for Adam. So Adam like any other single man in a singles ward decides to start trying to work his magic on Jane! Doesn't get too far, when he realizes Jane has a serious boyfriend, yes Jane had a boyfriend.
Jane breaks up with boyfriend........ (Single again, good thing for Adam)

One problem...!

Let's meet Charlie and Victoria
Charlie, very attractive Charlie was dating the real thing; beautiful, happy, easy-going Victoria. It was a going thing, where both of them seemed pretty perfect for each other.
BUT
They dated and HE decided it wasn't going to work because of very stupid reasons. (What is wrong with single ward men?)
Victoria is sad, pretty upset sad, (but she will get over it) and decides to talk to her friend Jane about it. Yes, Jane, remember Jane the one Adam likes very much.
They talk about Victoria and Charlie and then talk about Adam. Girlie Talk, trust talk, true friend talk!

(4 weeks pass, something like that, probably shorter)

Let's go back to the problem, Adam and Jane.
Sunday comes and Jane and Charlie are now setting next to each other all loving cuddling couple! Adam sits at the end of bench with the sadness sickness face. Yes people, Charlie goes for Jane although his BFF, roommate and family member was in love with Jane!

ReCAP:
Adam doesn't get girl
Girl goes with other boy
Victoria loses Boyfriend and good friend
Now I am waiting for Victoria and Adam to be the next big thing!

Dose anyone else see the problem in this story. I might be new to this whole singles ward thing and the whole dating in a singles ward but I can't watch this sick square/triangle mess.

Is it wrong, or is this what I should expect in a singles wards?

Umh, Hello

2009-11-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

New MOON is HERE!

What else is there to say but have fun tonight and be safe!

Can't wait to hear what you think about it!

HELLOO Jacob BLACK!

November, where are you?

2009-11-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

Flagstaff, AZ By:Candi

Its November.......... did any one notice that? I mean it would be very easy to get it confused with December since they are playing Christmas music in stores OR maybe you got it confused with September since it is still HOT outside.

Well, Ladies and some Gentlemen, it is November! Actually almost two weeks into November, which means the following things I look forward to:

Cold Weather......wherever that is at?
NEW Moon release.... 8 days counting!
Thanksgiving......... PanChupe, not sure how to spell it but all my El Salvadorians appreciate it.
Black Friday......... I love shopping, I love shopping with great deals.
30 actually work days left till my conference is here........ Oh smacks not looking forward to that.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Dear November,

I love you so much, it's a wonderful month full of food, love and thanks. Please send me cold weather, I am ready to ROCK my fall/winter wardrobe. Enjoy the many weddings; everyone wants to get married in the fall. Please don't worry about December and it's Christmas event trying to take you over. We still love Thanksgiving and we love Twilight, so thank you for bringing both of them to us.

Love one of your many biggest fans,

Candi

Have I missed anything, thoughts about November, feel free to leave!

Emilee & Me: Looking for November

Enjoying life and November~

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Every year I spend hours upon hours preparing for the Henriquez Halloween Party. Ever year it gets better, and more complicated.

Enjoy the pictures........... but the video is the best!

Hope everyone had a scary, spooky and awesomeness Halloween!

Enjoying life with the crazy family I picked~

What are you looking at?

2009-10-29T16:49:00.001-07:00

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
The young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
Cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others
Depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

New Moon Clip, must see

2009-10-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

As a Twilight fan, I have been obsesses with this New Moon unseen video clip from USA Weekend.
Camille was oh so kind to share the link and I here I am wanting to share the link with my readers. Please enjoy the new clip from the movie, New Moon, opening in 23 days!

I love me some werewolves!

Enjoying life, counting the days I get to see my Twilight loves on the big screen again~

I love you.........I love you not............

2009-10-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been in love with "THINGS", such as:

#1: This shirt I purchased the other day (Note to self, stop trying to wear it all the time). I love the colors and how different it looks. Sweetness

#2. My yellow heels, that I practically stole. Not really but I got them for 7 bucks at Charlotte Russe! (Clearance Rack) They spice up my clothes, and give me the attention I so love.

#3. FALL. Leaves turning orange rust yellow! Only seen in Flagstaff, HA, like the valley has any of those trees.
Enjoying Life, and the little things in it~

Another Baby?

2009-10-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and Megan Henriquez are pleased because finally their baby girl is here.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen after two weeks pass due the baby has arrived!
Born on October 15, 2009 at 12:07am

Charlie Eva Henriquez
8lbs 11oz 21inches

Happy and Healthy

~Enjoying life with a new addition in our family, stay post for more pictures to come.

Favorite Days

2009-10-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Tuesday has become one of my favorite days.

1) I have the day off!

2) I catch up on movies and reading.

3) Finally, I get to spend the day with this adorable cute little girl, Lina.

I have grown so attached to my niece, Lina. She is so adorable and has many faces to express it.

Here are some of my favorite photos, of her many faces.

Laughing face

Smiling face
Waking up face
Falling asleep face
Laughing at you face
Sleeping upset face, might be going to the bathroom right now
Fine I will pose, serious face
I am really COOL face

I love my Lina and I am so happy I get the opportunity to spend time with her. Thank you Ceci and Clint for trusting me with your precious girl. It makes me so happy that I am her favorite aunt already and she doesn't even speak yet.

Enjoying life with the people I love so dearly~

Is it wrong I haven't left yet?

2009-10-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

I have been dating Armando for X about of years. Reason I don't tell people any more is because I am constantly judged. Yes, judged because it has been longer than five months and we are not wed, due to Mormon standards.

Dear everybody who has a opinion about my relationship,

I am happy with Armando and where we are right now, not married! For some reason you think I am not happy or I am doing the wrong thing. I have some news for you today, I'm fine where I stand! Yes, the prophets have said we should wed early, but the prophets say not to drink caffeine drinks, so hopefully we don't. I am not making fun of their council, I actually don't know what I am trying to say but the fact is we are NOT getting married tomorrow and we are NOT bad people for doing so. We are okay with it, Armando isn't ready for xyz reasons and I am not either. So are we wasn't our time?.............No.......... we are enjoying our time together because yes both of us do want to get married but its not our time yet. Please don't think its because of reasons you come up with your head. There are many legal, emotional, life choices we don't get married yet. We love each other and it's not as easy as saying let us get married. If you have a problem with it, I understand, actually I don't understand, I am not a bad person and either is he. I am women that makes smart choices, timely and right (most of the time) I don't want to RUSH.

Thank you for your concern, but please stop sugar coding your judgements. Okay, that was mean. I am a little fired up right now. I do love your advice, just know I think I know what I am doing and if I am wrong then I suppose Heavenly Father has a plan for me or else he would not be leading me down this path.

Love,
Candi

Trying to enjoy life, with someone I love dearly, the way I know how to do right now~

Wake up call? 16 never felt so scary

2009-10-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

October 2, brought birthday joy! I had a total of four people I knew were celebrating their birthday. October is a serious birthday month, meaning February is about making babies~!

Back to track..............Jacob, my baby brother turned 16! One thought, "I am getting OLD"!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am getting old, not super old but older! I remember the day Jacob was born. I remember changing his diapers. I remember his long dark brown straight thin hair, his chubby round rosy cheeks, I remember my little baby brother. TEAR........... I know! He can officially drive, he can officially date, he is officially taller than me, he's officially in high school and before you know it he will be leaving on his mission. TEAR..........Sob...........TEAR.

We had a small get together on Sunday for Jacob's birthday.
Happy birthday little brother. I love you, stop growing!

Enjoying life watching my little brother grow up~

Cowboys or Indians

2009-10-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Armando is a sweetheart. THE END

He threw me a surprise birthday party, which was a blast. ~Thank you honey.

It was a costume party, Cowboy or Indians? Sad to say my sister Cecilia and I were the only ones who represented Indians, but we still conquered.
We played Family Fued, Cowboy and Indian style, it was the highlight of the night.

Not much more to say but to thank everyone, the food was delicious, the game were hilarious and the company was the best!
Enjoy life and the people you love~

Wait Wait............. you have to watch the video below.

Birthday wake up call

2009-09-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm an awful Human Being.

Little do I know how much I take people for granted.

Little do I realize how much people love me.

Little do I focus on the good things.

Little do I care about others sacrifice.

But now I do realize.

For the past 22 years I expect everyone and anyone to bend over backwards for me, to give me everything I want, to give me a fairytale or a scene in a movie.

I raise my expectations to the sky and if you don't meet it, I mean a inch off, I am disappointed.
I did all of this on my birthday, I expect the perfect day, pack with every awing moment.

I am an awful person.

September 4, 2009: I woke up and realized what I had done.
I didn't thank:

every person that sent me a birthday text
every person who sent me a Facebook message
my dad for making me breakfast
my dad for playing & singing ridiculous birthday songs
Andrea surprising me with yummy cupcakes and McKenzie drawing me a picture of us
my little brothers giving me birthday hugs, wishes and spending the little money they had to by me converts
my brother Jonathan sending me the best birthday video from Flagstaff
my mother taking me to get a pedicure, although I know she didn't have the funds to pay for it
my sister joining us at the pedicure
my sister giving me the best book ever, although she had to go to 10 different stores to find the book
my nieces and nephews giving the best birthday voice message
and
Armando giving me yellow roses and the best card, knowing how much I love yellow flowers
Armando for being so patient and waiting for me, even though I took three hours at the salon
Armando for looking so fine in my favorite cloths of his
Armando for shaving, I love his baby face
Armando for driving me every where, because I don't have a car
Armando for taking me to dinner even though he didn't have the money for it
Armando for hugging, holding me and giving me everything he could give me.

How could I be so ungrateful?
September 4, 2009 I woke up thankful that I had the best boyfriend a girl could have. I woke up thankful having friends who loved me and spent the time to show me. I woke up thankful having a family that loves me so much. I woke up loved and thankful!
Birthdays are about spending time with those people, birthdays are about being happy, simple and loved in the smallest ways.

- Thank you for the birthday wishes

Birthday, oh what fun!

2009-09-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

So before September is over I should talk about my birthday. Please note this is not a happy story, more like a pity story, but don't worry it gets better.

Usually I make my birthday a big deal, but turning 23 wasn't really a highlight, plus Armando gave me a hard time about not letting other people, (family and friends) do something for me.
So this year I decided to do nothing for myself. No, party, birthday dinner, dancing, lunch dates, nothing, I wasn't going to plan anything!

So I waited............. and waited.................................... and waited....................................!

11:00am: Still sitting in bed, reading Twlight!

12:30pm: I got out of my bed board from waiting. I discovered my father cooking breakfast and playing a birthday song from his computer. Makes me feel pretty good and loved.

1:00pm: Armando shows up with roses and a card. (Pretty sweet, third time he has ever got me flowers) So excited that the rest of day is about to turn around to something amazing!

Then I went back to waiting.............. and waiting some more! Grr...........

4:00pm: Pedicure with my mom and sister Cecilia. (This is when I received, "Catching Fire", which is amazing) There is a smile on my face because I assume when I get home the evening will start and my toes will look cute.

6:30pm: I'm home, staring at Armando on the couch.

6:35pm: Armando and me have a pretty serious conversation,
C: So what are we doing tonight?
A: I don't know, whatever you want to?
C: Well what do you want to do, or what do you have plan????
A: Umh........It's your birthday you pick?
C: GRR (Wrong Answer)
A: What!
C: I thought you wanted me to sit back and wait for my family and friends to do something, and now you want me to pick, remember you didn't want me to plan anything, I don't get it?
A: Well.................it's your birthday I figure we do what you wanted to do.
C: So pretty much you having nothing planned? Grr!
......................... (nothing we sit).....................
A: Fine, lets leave

After arguing and some crying, I ended up at the mall buying myself shoes to make me feel better. Shoes can fix a lot of things!

9:30pm: Finally decided on dinner. During dinner I found out Armando is throwing me a surprise birthday party next weekend!
- Oh how did I find out, HE TOLD ME! so much for a surprise. As much as I want to be happy and excited I feel like the night was awful and he only told me to make me feel bad.

11:00pm: Bed, After much thought someone is in the dog house!

Happy Birthday CANDIDA! Now I remember why I always plan every moment of my birthday ........................... So I am not disappointed.

-Please read next post, you'll realize why I wrote this one.

Top 10............

2009-09-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

TOP 10 Things I LOVE about the Bay Area (Sunnyvale- San Francisco area)

#1 Pupusas, El Salvadorians pride and joy that make my tummy OH so happy!

#2 The Beach. Must I say more?
#3 The Redwood Forest. The mountains, trees and blue sky can take you to a whole other world. The fresh feeling of being outside with nature makes living life happy!
#4 Tree Hugging. Very popular activity, however these tress are bit large, might need a couple of people to get around this one.
#5 The San Francisco Bridge. Bright orange, breath taking and one of the best landmarks of world.
#6 The Sunsets. Although Arizona has the best sunsets, the bay area has deep orange sunsets with the best weather to go with it.
#7 The Street ART. The streets of San Francisco are tagged up with meaningful and inspirational art. It makes the city vibrant with color and gives your walk a site to see.
#8 The public transportation. No need of a car in the city, the train system can get you there for a cheap price and with no traffic.
#9 Red Mango, The best frozen yogurt, ever! Yummy, delicious and totally ate some every night I was there.
#10 The People! My friends are so amazing and make this place magic. Thank you to Nichole, Marcela and Andy for keeping me alive and going.
-Enjoying life wishing I was still in the Bay Area!

A perfect get a way...........

2009-09-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I spent five days in the Bay Area, my second home. It was time to get away from work, family, friends and life over all. I planned my escape to start on a Thursday, a perfect get a way.

I was bringing my bestie Andrea and meeting up with my other half, Nichole. It would be an adventure although I spent last summer living in the Bay Area, it still would be new. After knowing Andrea for seven years and claiming her as my BFF, we discovered we had never traveled with each other. What better way to test our friendship but then bringing her along with me.

Might I say she did a terrific job, you know one of those smelly stickers you get when you do "good job" in third grade. Yup, Andrea kept me sane, maybe that is why we are such good friends.

Enjoy some photos of us on our trip,
More updates from my escape to come....................

Vampire or Werewolf?

2009-08-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Obsessed, is that the right word?

Not sure, however, I don't know a stronger word to describe my feelings about reading the Twilight serious.

First, I read Twilight in two days. I see finally understand why Busy Bee Lauren and half of the worlds population is in love with Edward Cullen. Could he be any sweeter, kind, loving and such a gentlemen. Shoot, I would want to become a vampire if it means being with oh.....Edward! So as you can tell I loved the first book.

Second, I got the next book before my vacation to San Francisco, so New Moon took me a week and half to read. Then there was Jacob, and we fell in love. Especially with his warm smile and effortless understanding. So now I see why there is Team Jacob and Team Edward. I heard that people either loved New Moon or hated it. I love it, mainly because Jacob and I fell in love. (Not sure if Armando knows, but if ever read my blog, then we might have a problem. I justify my love with Edward and Jacob mainly on the point, they aren't real, so it's doesn't count, right?)

Third, Here I am freshly starting Eclipse, I am on chapter six and a little frustrated I have to put the book down to get ready for church. I am falling in love again with Edward, but Jacob being depressed, is killing me. I don't know how Bella dose it but I can not confirm who's team I am on yet.

I am addicted! Glad I am not alone, since my fellow blogger friends Camille and Aimee both were convinced to read the series. Reading their conversion is sweet and comforting to sad obsessed life. Since I have to work this week and it is my birthday, it might take me a little longer to read the third book. Until then I will still keep living in my obsessed fantasy world of Vampires and Werewolves.

Enjoying life dreaming of Edward and Jacob~

Guilty

2009-08-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have given in! I assume most of you will be happy!

I am reading Twilight and I love it. Finished the first book in four days, moving onto the New Moon, hopefully I will take my time reading it. No promises! I finally see why everyone is in love with Edward, I might start searching for a Edward to marry but I think he only exists in my imagination! Oh Edward!
Enjoying the vampire life~

Tragic Wedding Moment

2009-08-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

After I brought myself back, it was already time for the bouquet throwing, my least favorite part of a wedding. Honestly my fate relies on my catching skills and if you know me I can’t catch! Of course I always get shoved and dragged to the dance floor where I am surrounded by another twenty girls, keeping their stand strong, looking straight up, eyes on the prize, do or die trying attitude. Well, there I am, somehow I had made it to the front, center spot, I guess the best place to be to score. As soon as her arm went up, it was like slow motion, the pushing began from all the girls behind me, restless, eager and then it happen the flowers were chucked into the air! It didn’t feel real, almost from a movie, instincts kick in and before you know it I was reaching for the flowers. I had about a second to think about it, if I caught it I would have to dance with some boy, a ridiculous song in front of everyone, but then it could mean I am one more step closer to getting married, right! So I went for it, hands, body already in the catching position. It was coming, and in surprise towards me! I held my breath, ready for the impact it was maybe two feet away from my hands. I thought, it’s happening, it’s coming, oh my goodness, yes, yes, yes and then all of a sudden she snagged it from my hands. Before I knew it I was out of the game. I had lost the closes moment to every catching those silly flowers. I stood there, probably with a disgusted look on my face, “it was mine for a second”. As I walked back to my chair actually disappointed I realized the pain, no not the pain from my heart in sadness, but the scar the "girl" left on my writs in the moment of being beaten. She had cut me, full scratch with her fake nails, it was bleeding and stinging!!! I laughed in anger because I finally gave into catching those flowers; I had lost and know left with a scar to remind me I am not getting married any time soon.

Enjoying Life~ trying to deal with the truth

My new scar; it's a reminder!

Like a true Mexican, Armando stole his favorite Mexican candy and stuffed them in my purse.

The Wedding Moment

2009-08-17T12:02:00.001-07:00

I attend my 157th wedding today! Okay maybe not exactly that number but it feels like I have attend so many and actually since I use to work at a wedding a hall, I have probably attended more then 157 receptions. Well, the point of my sad awaking is that I am still not married. Yes, if you hadn't noticed I do not have a wedding ring or a fiance of my own. So attending so many weddings has finally gotten to me. I am not sure that I am as bitter as I sound but I do know there is that little part of me, the girlie girl side, where I am playing wedding and house by myself in some pretty dress from sister closet. It’s the moment where I have my first crush and began to think of how many kids I want and what they are going to look like. The moment my sister got married and I knew I wanted exactly the same thing she had, sparkling lights, fall weather and the first dance with a gushing, happy, romantic song that makes you cry. Well all of those moments have brought me here, right now to this moment.

I attended Armando's cousin wedding; it was beautiful, with pastel green, calla Lilies, a villa stone edge hall, decorated in diamonds and pure white. We were surround my family and friends, the pressure was on as usual, we were only asked maybe six times when we would get married, not as bad. Overall, I was upholding myself very well, until it got to the daddy daughter dance, I could feel the urge of tears pressing to fill my eyes. It was the sweeties song, "I loved her first", by Heartland, all I could imagine is what song would my father choose for our dance? At my sister’s weddings he picked, "Lady in Red" and "The Way You Look Tonight", I know he saved the best for the last. Alright, I got through the song with tear still intact but it was the moment, the one that always gets me, the first dance. The moment where you truly see how much the couple loves each other. They way they stare at each other, eyes latched together, smiling with happiness sounding them, it's the moments, where finally you’re in the arms of your loved one and you have all your family and friends around you, what else could you ask for. They danced to "Lucky" by Jason Marz and Colbie Caillat, “Lucky I am in love with my best friend” it’s when the tears finally began to slide down my smiling face.

Enjoying life~ waiting for my moment

A New Serries

2009-08-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

A new series to my blog post............ Healthy living, learning about your body!

Lately, I have been obsessed with reading articles about healthy living. All of my articles come from popular magazines or online news. (Note: I am not subscribed to any particular magazines, but I catch my self reading magazines in the doctors office, gym, work or my sister home). I read the article and if I really think it's worth something I rip it out of the magazine. I am not sure if this is considered stealing but really how many times to do read an article twice?

So here is to the beginning of my new series, Learning about your Body, Healthy Living
Readers, I promise these post wont be long and boring. They will be useful to women living and worth your time.

Let us begin,
Health Lies You Should Never Believe (Glamour)

1. If you're thirty, you're already dehydrated.

It's a lie, Your body has a way of telling you what it wants. Thirst is a normal sign of a need for fluids and you feel it well before thing have gone to far.
Signs of Dehydrated?
A headache and sluggishness

~Enjoy life, learning about my body

Lina update

2009-08-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted....

Yes, I am addicted to my cute, little, precious niece. Every time I visit her I cant stop thinking of how darn cute she is. I am not sure why I am so obsessed with my niece, I mean I was pretty obsessed about my other nieces and nephews but maybe it is because it's Ceci's first baby. She is so darling, and I love that Ceci is obsessed with her daughter too. I get pictures through out the week of Lina they make my day to see how samll, cute and everyday growing. (Check out Ceci Blog post to see what I am talking about).
Ceci and Clint, thanks for having such an adorable girl, I cant wait for Tuesdays.

On another note....
The other day I was holding Lina and I noticed her eyes are NOT brown. Ceci and Clint tell everyone that they are brown. I am sorry but I see some color in those big eyes. See Ceci has brown eyes and Clint has bright blue eyes. However my mother side is known to have light skin with blue and green eyes. Emma's first Tyler had blue eyes and now has green. So it is not a big strentch to think Lina might have green eyes.
Either way I love her, green, blue, brown........I am just saying... they look green to me.

What do you think?

Enjoying life, while enjoying the new life in our family~

Perfect Weekend Trip: Gand Canyon

2009-07-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

Day Three: (Final Day)

The Grand Canyon, I had never been. Yes, I have lived here all my 22 years of life and have not been. You will be surprise there are many like me, and have lived here even longer then me.
My inspiration came from Amiee, (Parks and Recreation StAR) she put her summer goals on her blog at the beginning of the summer, one of her goals were to hike the Grand Canyon. I am not that daring to hike the canyon, I am okay with just visiting the canyon.

There is no real way to describe the canyon. It is beautiful and breath taking. The first time seeing it, you pause in wonders, take a deep breath and ask yourself if this imagine your seeing is real. It is a jewel, unique, shining and precious, no other thing can compare.
As I started to take pictures of the wonder, I noticed my pictures just don't express what your eye is really seeing. I did my best taking some great shots, I hope you enjoy. I know it looks fake but trust me, it's real and on a side note, one day I will hike it. (Hopefully I make it, I heard to many horror stories of people dying every year in the canyon.)

Enjoying life, wondering how something so amazing came about~

Perfect Weekend Trip: Flagstaff

2009-07-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Day two of trip:

Flagstaff is full of green grass, tress and flowers. The smell of pine mixed with clear fresh air. The colorful flowers and bright blue skies, makes me feel like I am in a forest of paradise. The weather is cool, and the people here are so sweet and genuine. I love flagstaff and the feeling I get when I visit. We spent the night in Flagstaff with my brother and had a great time relaxing before our next stop, The Grand Canyon.

Before I get a head of myself let me rewind. Flagstaff is a very interesting college town, it is nothing like Tempe. It is full of culture and history. The buildings are traditional with dark wood and red bricks. It is filled with great local places to eat and shops. The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable, like if everyone knows each other. I really enjoy the small town feel.

My favorite memory of Flagstaff was sitting in the back of truck viewing the billions of stars above us in pitch darkness, with the shining fireworks lighting up our cold faces.

Enjoying life in the green~

Perfect Weekend Trip

2009-07-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

It can get a little hot here in the valley, for this reason weekend trips are great! I took advantage of the 4th of July holiday weekend to experience Arizona. I knew a lot of people taking off to California and Mexico but I decided to adventure off here at home. Friday after work I decided to take off with Armando and venture to Sedona, Flagstaff and....... the Grand Canyon.

Day one of trip:
Sedona, red rocks, windy clouds and the smell of wet dirt, takes me to a healing point inside. Sedona is home to my favorite restaurant, the Hideaway. It is a great little place, hidden in the back of a plaza. It has the view of the Sedona mountains and the creek that runs below the restaurant. Besides the awesome view, it has delicious pizza and root bear floats. Sedona has many adventures and pricey activities, but if you get smart you realized you can do many things for free. We took a back road up this mountain, did some off-roading, talked to some locals and learned about the mountains near by. We ventured off to a trail, realizing we were on the same trail that PINK JEEP takes (an off-road jeep tour, that is over priced). No matter how many times I go to Sedona, it is always my favorite place to escape too!

Enjoy the pictures~ The 70 degree weather never felt so good :)

That glaze, is water! Yup, it was raining for about 30mins, created theses mini waterfalls.

Armando's model pose...with his farmers tan!Batman Mountain, venturing trailed we walked.Precious........I know
The view while driving to Flagstaff, as the storm moves on.

Good News, BABY who...

2009-07-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Time has pass and I have been slacking on my blog. I have couple of things I need to update on. However, I have very exciting news and want to tell everyone, so I will come back to the pass couple of weeks soon but,

I would like to present my niece:

Lina Ester Burgess

Yes, she was born yesterday July 14, 2009 to my sister and brother-in-law. Cecilia and Clint are proud parents to Lina, 7lb 11oz and 21 inches long. Both Ceci and Lina are healthy and going home this afternoon. I am very proud of my sister, everyone said she did a great job, she is one strong cookie! I am so happy to be a Tia again, Lina has no idea how happy we all are to have her in our life. My family has been blessed with three handsome nephews, one beautiful niece and now another precious niece, Lina.

It is crazy to think Lina is already here. I feel like yesterday Ceci was calling to give us the good news. I haven't blogged much about Ceci pregnancy, giving her a chance to tell everyone. I hope she forgives me for this. However, I am so happy, I couldn't hide it.

Enjoying life, happy, I love my new baby!

A Happy Father's Day

2009-06-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

This year I have been slacking on planning every event for my family. For the longest time I have always been the planner. I plan every family event, birthdays, holidays, baby showers, bridal showers, and even family FHE. However, this year I have been the biggest slacker, I seriously have waited to the last minute to plan everything. I am not sure if it is because I know I will plan a marvelous event (since I am that good) or I am just waiting to see if anyone else will pick up the slack.

Well Father's Day came, and I was so surprise with my sisters. Yes, they picked up the slack. Two phone calls, one with Emma and the other with my mother. The verdict: I had to buy only ONE thing. It was the oddest feeling. So I guess I am trying to say thank you to my sisters for making sure everything was planned. :)

It was a great Father's day. Simple, joyful and just felt loving. My dad broke down and told us how much he loves us. It was the sweetest thing. We don't hear those true feelings from my dad very often, he is a manly man and doesn't cry. However, he got choked up.

Enjoy the photos, it has been a while since we have taken a group photo, although Jonathan is missing...we still love you.

6 out of 7 kids and my dad
Everyone wants to take a picture with Emma, seriously she is in almost every photo

The grand kids.... Lina is on her way, that is why Ceci is in the picture.

Yeah, my new hat that I love, and my cute nephews!

Enjoying Life with Family~

New Blog to follow

2009-06-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

My new favorite blog......... http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Seriously be ready to laugh, its sick!

To give you all a preview, here are two of my favorite photos. Please visit this site, it will make your day!

Must I say anything all....

No need for a dog, we have PIG

~Enjoying life and realizing my family is not as wired as I thought it was!

Little Boys

2009-06-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed to have the cuties nephews. Seriously, I don't know if they get much cutie-r then this. Well this past Sunday or two weeks ago...not sure however, Sunday we celebrated Sebastian's birthday. Sunday, May 30, 2009 he turned nine years old. My little baby is that much older, it seems just like yesterday he was born, but I guess not.

We had a good time, enjoying family and a home cooked meal with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert.
Here are some pictures of the boys in my life. I love them all so much. Happy Birthday Sebastian, don't worry you will always be my baby boy.

Sebastian getting his nine spankings

Noah, Tyler, Jacob, Armando and Sebastian

Sebastian & Emma

Enjoying life~

I'm full of surprises

2009-06-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

To kick off my summer, I planed a last minute camping trip!

So if you really know me, you know I never do last minute and I never camp! So as you can imagine this was a trip.

Armando: Thursday evening Armando said we should go camping....??

Candi: being daring said sure, lets invite Andrea and her husband, so I called them up & asked

Andrea: Sure, we were wanting to go camping, let me make sure its okay with Anthony

Candi: sweet.......waiting.....

Andrea: Alright lets go, come over and we can plan it out

Candi: Turned to Armando and said okay lets go tomorrow

Armando: very surprised said okay.....he then thought about it......wait...... you don't camp

Candi: I know....so are you ready to deal with me

Armando: ...........................ah..............sure.................oh crap

Candi: Ha ha ha!!! (Evil laugh)

Okay, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. Armando was good with me, mainly because I was pretty good. I put up the tent in the dark!!! Whoop Whoop, helped cook, and slept on the floor. (Our air mattress deflated)

However, there was some complaining....on the hike, not because I am a chicken, because Armando forgot to mention we were going for like a two mile hike and I was wearing river shoes! Plus we got lost and I almost fell off a cliff, I grab on to a tree and was hanging for my life. ~True Story

Enjoy the pictures...I do want to mention, I jumped off this waterfall, (something I never do, I was full of all surprises)

Andrea, Anthony, Candi, Armando, after our camping experience

Me, in my camping gear

Andrea and I posing in front of the waterfall I jumped off

Armando, practicing his paintball aim

Andrea and Mckenize..just being

~Enjoying my life during summer

To the People.................

2009-05-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have so many people that I love so dearly. I never get a chance to let them know how grateful I am to have them in my life so here is a to a new series in my blog life.....To the People! To the people I love, and care deeply for, thank you!

To the People...................

Four years ago I met an amazing girl Elizabeth Gonzales. Our college life began in the Summer Bridge Program, we both had just graduated from High school and ready to start our life at ASU. We took every class together that we could. She was my first college friend and it feel fantastic to be ending our chapter together. Liz you know how much I love you, thanks for getting me through college.

Elizabeth and Me in Nogales, Freshmen Year Graduation

-Enjoying life being graduated

Today is the day...........

2009-05-18T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today is the day my life begins.
Today I become a citizen of the world.
Today is the first step of changing the world
Today I become accountable to some other than myself and my parents
I become accountable more than my grades
Today I become accountable to the world, to the future to all the possibilities that life has to offer
Starting today my job is to show up wide eye and willing and ready for what......
I don't know for anything and everything
To take on life, to take on love, to take on the possibilities and responsibilities of creating a better tomorrow, not just for me but the future generations to come
Today my friends our lives begin and I for one cant wait!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me to be here today, standing and ready to open the next chapter in my life! I could have not done it with out you all. To my friends, mentors and family. THANK YOU!
(Grey's Anatomy with my add ins)

Enjoying life....Graduated!

It feels good to be an AHer

2009-05-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

As the year comes to an end, I become closer and closer to graduation. Part of my passage is attending the American Humanics annually dinner. This year would be different from the pass two years. This year, I would be one of the recognized seniors. The last couple of years I have had the joy of dressing up with my girls, driving together, taking a million pictures and then hanging out after dinner.
This year dinner was absolutely different. My parents were invited, I received the senior frame gift and got to stand on stage a couple of times. I was very happy to have my parents there and have them meet the other side of my life, American Humanics.
I enjoyed the ceremony and was horned in wining an award for my leadership in AHMI. I received a plaque with my name and a donation in my name was given to AHMI for this year campaign.Patrick McWhortor from the Arizona Alliance of Nonprofit was our keynote speaker. He spoke about the transformation of the nonprofit sector becoming the center of the economy. It was a motivating speech to us seniors entering the sector during this economic crises.The overall experience of the annually dinner felt so surreal but it is the passage to graduation. I want congratulate the class of 2009 graduating seniors from American Humanics. May we all be apart of the good for the change in this world.

Enjoying life, waiting to graduate-

Grad fiesta!

2009-04-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

I am having a graduation party/open house next month and I don't have anyone's addresses. Can you please send me your address per e-mail. (Jeannie it would be great to see you). To all my friends that live out of town, if you will be here May 16, 2008 I would love to have you there!

chenriqu@asu.edu

Enjoying life- counting the days to graduation!!!

Photography by JO

Intern Update

2009-04-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

AHMI Student Advisory Council

It has been 18 weeks into my internship and I haven't given a recent update.

Here we go:
First of all I love my internship. Yes I said, I heart my internship! I know it might sound nerdy or odd, but I enjoy coming to work. I have the ability to make my own schedule, I work while listening to my ipod, I get to use Skype, twitter, facebook and while all this fun is happening, I'm learning how to plan a 1,000 people institute.

Now, just because I enjoy my job doesn't mean it's not difficult.
I have a never ending to do list, I get to converse and manage with more than 40 professionals on our Host Committee, 65 student representatives, plus the volunteer committee and student advisor council. I am the liaison between national staff to ASU staff, to Lodestar Center staff, the hotel and our recent add on of 35 local nonprofits we are recruiting for our case study. Now this is just the beginning!

I am working on many items, let me tell you about one recent item.
The Starter Kit!
This is where it begins, a 35 page booklet describing ever detail any student, professional or person attending AHMI needs to know. The booklet will have information on what Phoenix has to offer, traveling guide, lodging guide, registration, cost and how to raise the cost to come to AHMI Phoenix 2010. I also have to know all the logistics such as speakers, event schedule, and content overview. Like I said in the beginning, my list is never ending, I still have the expo, placement services, career coaching, and awards. Take a breath, I'm almost done, position descriptions; student advisory council, student representatives, and AHMI 2011 intern. I wrap it up with the credits of the Host Committee, Student Advisory, Planning team from ASU, and national staff. Wow!

There you go, that is the Starter Kit in a paragraph! This huge project is due in May... yes, 1 month count down!

To tell you all the truth in January when I really began my work, I sat down one day and realized what I had got myself into. Although I wanted to cry, run and quit. Here I am, the "new" tends to be scary. Its okay to be sacred, just never give up! The internship might seem like this small distant thing in the future. Actually, you should know now, its around the corner and when you get to the point, your going to need everything you learned the pass three years to get through it!!!

I promise to have another update about my internship next week,

For now Enjoying life in one of the best jobs I have ever had~

Hello, Goodbye!

2009-03-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

As I noted in a previous email Jo is leaving me! Jo (my closet and longest best friend) is leaving me, to live in cold Idaho. I still don't understand why she would want to live in Idaho when you could live in nice warm weather in Arizona. I mean who am I suppose to go to the gym with in the morning? As much as I like to say I have self motivation, Jo really is who motivates me to get up in the morning to go? :( sad face
Okay, enough of my sobbing. Since she is leaving we had the opportunity to hang out a lot more. A couple of weeks ago Wendy and I took Jo on a girls night out.

Here we are at As You Wish. We did pottery painting, interesting how much you actually end up spending when you walk out of there. I would have to say, this has been the most expensive pen holder I have ever had!!Mongolian Grill: must I say more besides that it was delicious!
We then made sure to stay out late, Jo never gets too since she is a full time mom. It was cute, Jo seem so excited to stay out late watching a movie. We watched Duplicity...eh...it was alright, nothing great.

(Jo, Candi, Wendy: 2008)

Okay this is pretty funny, here is a photo from when we were high schools. Wendy was a Junior and we were Sophomores. Pretty funny, sad thing is we still look the same. HA

(Candi, Jo, Wendy: 2003)

I am so happy for Jo and her family! Good luck in your new home~ You will be Missed!
Enjoy life with your friends and family-

Did you Know?

2009-03-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty sweet video about things I bet you didn't know!

It really surprise me, you will be amazed after watching this video. The video is put together very well and its worth your time. Check it out below.

Favorite quote from the video:
The 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's.... is GREATER than the total population of the United States
Translation:
India has more honors kids than America has kids

Enjoy life in our growing world of technology!

Senior Pictures

2009-03-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

This week I got my senior pictures done with Photography by Jo!
Jo and I grew up with each other, we were the bestest childhood friends. We loved to play house, cook food, eat food, and play dress up. We grew up having each other, I knew she was always there for me, I secretly thought of her as my guardian angel.
Jo has become a wonderful photographer that I truly admire. She is leaving me in a week to go live in cold, cold, cold, Idaho and I am terribly sad! Of course before she leaves I made her take my senior photos becuase she is missing my graduation. Okay, enough of that mushy cute stuff... I'm going to start crying.

She did an amazing job, we had a lot of fun running around downtown Phoenix. The funny part of this story is Jo has only been to downtown Phoenix maybe twice, in the 15 years we have known each other. So it was fun showing her my side of the world I get to experience everyday.

Jo- you did such a great job, I cant wait to see the rest of the photos. To tell you the truth I have been waiting eagerly by my computer checking for your blog post! ha ha

Thank you again!!!

Like these photos and want to see more, check out Photography by Jo Blog! Click here to view
Enjoying life....ready to graduate!

Peru: traveling the word

2009-03-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't go to Peru. However, I wish I could. My brother Josue just got home this Sunday from visiting Peru with his Spanish class. Yup, his Spanish class, see he goes to Mountain View. If your from Mesa that should explain why his ordinary Spanish class went to Peru.

I know, all of my Westwood friends think I sold out but I didn't. I promise my blood still runs orange and blue. For my brother......MtV..... well they have a better soccer team and obviously a better Spanish class.

I really liked his photos, so I thought I would share...out of pure jealousy

Enjoy life, I'm wishing I was in Peru.

Favorite People Cont.

2009-03-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Still loving all of the photo I took of my favorite niece, Emilee. Here are some more I put into a video! Enjoy

Favorite People

2009-03-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

So one of my favorite people is my adorable niece, Emilee. As of right now she is the only niece I got, well technically not. In July I will have my other niece, Lina, but until then Emilee is enjoying her last days being the only spoiled little girl we got.

Sunday she came over to spend some time here at my parents home. We did our normal talk about how her life is going and what she wants to do when she grows up. I then asked her what she wanted for her birthday and her cute little self said, a scrapbook. Yup, she is following in my foot steps.
Well that isn't all my story, she also wanted this frame thing I do. Yes, had made gift (which you all could of been apart of, if you would of only comment on my Pay it Forward post...moving on from the pain) this hand made gift is a combination of tagging ones name and pictures. It's pretty hard to explain, but it's pretty sweet, so bare with me.... I will post a photo when it is complete.
This is what lead us to our photo shoot Sunday afternoon. I played the photographer, Emilee played the model, and I like to add she did a great job.

Enjoy my favorite photos of my favorite niece, (I know there not that amazing like, my sisters or Jo Photography but they are good enough for me and Emilee).Enjoying life..

Spring Break Cont.

2009-03-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Okay as usually, I take way to many pictures! What can I say, "I'm a picture hog!" I'm not kidding, I love taking them. Get this a total of 316 pictures were taken from my California weekend. Believe me now, that would be a whole lot of disposable cameras if technology wasn't up on there game with memory cards!

So, here is a little video of more of my favorite photos, Enjoy!

Did I mention, one more spot is open for my challenge, please ready below!

Spring Break

2009-03-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

As Spring break comes to end today, I cant believe it was officially my last spring break! It is a bitter sweet taste. I mean I wont have to think of midterms or even the first day of class again! However, I will never have a week off to go on vacation and call it spring break! Bitter Sweet!
The good news: I have 6 weeks to go before I am finished with school.

So what did I do for my last spring break? I would like to say I went on amazing cruise or back packing in Europe but honestly I did what I love doing. I visit one of my favorite state, good old California. Home to sunny beaches and most of all the Happiest place ever, Disneyland! I guess you could say, I kicked it old school. I drove to California with some of my favorite people. Armando, Andrea and Kristina, what a group. We all got along really well and I am so happy the girls got a chance to know Armando better.

So what did I do in California?

Day#1: Beach Bums Day#2: Disneyland/California Adventures Day#3: Relax: Hamilton Pier: Road Trip Home
Spring Break has come to end for me! I hope you all enjoyed it or are enjoying now!
Enjoy Life, with a little break

P.S. Still need at least one more comment, come on get on it people!! (View Below)

Pay it forward... A gift for you!

2009-03-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Okay I have seen a couple of these and I got this off my friend Whitney's Blog, so sounds like fun. The only thing I'm worried about is, the commenting! Yup, you see I have readers, I know your there, Google analytics tells me your there. However, I don't receive many comments. So here I am, asking you to leave comments. I almost feel like this is a bribe, leave me a comment and I will send you a gift. Ha... so maybe it is.

Here are the official rules:
Rule #1: I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment on this post requesting to join the PIF (Pay It Forward) exchange. All the gifts will be made and sent out (sometime within the next year).

Rule #2 What you need to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'PAY IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL PAY IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG.

Rule #3: Then, from all the other comments, I will randomly choose a winner and send that person a gift too. That person isn't in the PIF, that person is just a winner of the giveaway. (In hopes that I get enough comments!)
So PAY IT FORWARD....post a comment! Humor me in my game!
I will randomly pick the winner on March 28th. (Once again, in hope I have enough comments)

I also must tell you, I am a very talented person...I have many great hand made gift ideas.. so get on it, why haven't you left me a comment yet.

Featured talents:

Yup.. that is my hand writing.... it gets better.My cooking skills, are much like this guy, minus the throwing the food up in the air.
Jo, you know what I'm talking about.

My baking skillsMy sister new addiction, her CricketMy taste for sweet Jewelry, okay not all is hand made but there are a couple of pices that areAnd of course my wonderful skills in Scrapbooking, physical and now online!

Alright enjoy life, I will await!

LDS Temples

2009-03-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

The news is out that HBO is showing a television series that imitates LDS ceremonies.This is upsetting, but the church has come out with a statement asking for church members not to draw more attention to the show. http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma
I encourage you to read the above statement and act accordingly.
Thank you for all your desires to stand up for the right.

"The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace"-Exodus 14:14

Please watch this video, to learn more about the LDS/Mormon Temples.

MIA: Missing in Action

2009-03-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA for about three weeks now. Mainly because school has taken over my life. I am on spring break right now and will try to recap the past three weeks.

Where to start....
Week 1:
As some of you know I am no longer at my parents ward but at the singles ward.(Pass four months) Recently they decided to have a traveling Gnome in relief society. Yup, you read right a traveling Gnome. It is similar to the traveling pants of the sisterhood but instead of pants they gave up Garden Gnomes. Odd, I know but bare with me, it gets better. See I was given the Gnome from Vanessa, his name is One-Eyed Pete. Why...oh this is the good part, he is missing an eye!

So here I am traveling in my daily tasks with a foot tall, missing eye, garden Gnome. The whole point of this activity is to show that we are connected by doing the similar things with our Gnomes. So I had to take pictures as I traveled with Gnome. I had many people stare at me, but a great way to do missionary work.

Vanessa transferring the Gnome to me at Church

FHEJaclyn, One-eyed Pete and Me Enjoying lunch in Downtown Phoenix

Week 2:
The last weekend of February was a weekend filled with Stress, sickness, no sleep, and fun! As I have told you all before I am recently the 2010 American Humanics Management Institute Intern. Part of being the intern, I get to plan an institute for 1,000 nonprofit students and professionals across the nation. (Pretty much a BIG deal). The event will be in Phoenix in January 2010 and I am the only national staff located in Arizona. The national staff office is in Kansas City, Missouri. With that said the last weekend in February mapped our first planning meeting for the institute. We had students and staff fly in for this weekend meeting, that I had planned. It was event weekend with much success but I pretty much, didn't sleep, stressed myself out to the point I couldn't sleep and ended up getting awfully sick by Monday. However, I do it again, it was a learning experience for me and preview of how heckive life is going to be in December when this AHMI rolls around.

Student Advisory Council: Teena, Esther, Sam, Shante, Alex, Candi, Jen and Tory Dinner at Cibo:

Week 2 part 2:

Sunday was packed with work, love and fun! I didn't make to church , :( sad face! However, I still made time to get up early and read my scriptures. I started the morning at 6:00am prepping myself for the last day of my weekend meeting. By the time I finished work I was off to School BBQ where the president of our organization was coming. I arrived late as usually but this time because I was sent to the store. I had a great time introducing my boss, colleagues and the president to my American Humanic Friends. It was also a relief from a long weekend to smile and be surround with many people who love me. After the BBQ, Armando and I raced over to Ceci house to finish my evening celebrating Clint's 26th Birthday. Ceci & Cling had prepared dinner and even Jonathan and Megan made it from Flagstaff to visit. We ended the night playing catch phase with all of my family. Yes, it was pretty interesting seeing it happen!

Students at AH BBQTyler & Emilee (Niece and Nephew)Jacob, Tyler, Emma, Josue and Jonathan Ceci and the birthday boy: Clint!

Week#3:
This last week I have spent studying! I have just finished my last midterm on Thursday and it felt great. I had a total of three midterms and a 10 page research paper. Whoop!

No really picture of how midterms were. Just know I looked horrible, hardly slept and I am tired of learning terms I do not care for.

Enjoy Life-

Success is around the Corner

Materialistic vs. Real Love

2009-02-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day: a holiday to express and share love with your sweetheart!
And that is what exactly what Armando did.
I am going to have to confess! I sometimes consider myself a material person...and...well.... its a bad thing! I know we all like material things, but I am willing to confess, I might expect material things....just sometimes. Okay no judging.... the first step of recovery is stating your problem, so bare with me.

Every year, for the past three years I have always dreamed up this big Valentine event! With roses and chocolates... a tear bear... and all of those gushy things you see in on T.V. I mean I always just thought... how hard can it be.
The first year me and Armando began our courtship, I decorated his room with hearts... yup a heart attack like no other. The seconds year, rented a helium tank and filled his room with balloons. Finally my third year after two years of disappointment (on my standards) I decided to take it down a notch and put chocolate kisses through out his room. Of course he had a trail of hearts from the front door to his room, where he found this huge sign telling him how much I loved him.I know what your thinking..... I'm crazy.... I already know, but seriously I always thought it was so easy, now that I sit back and think about it.. none of it was easy. Everything cost money..(lots) and it took me at least four hours of my day to decorate his room.

So where is all of this going? Well this year Armando asked me if we could postpone Valentine's to the end of the month. I thought about it and it worked out okay. I am recently broke and hadn't thought of what I would do for him. I told myself, not to expect anything, and honestly I was okay with it. This Valentine's Day was the best Valentine I have ever had!
No not because I didn't get anything but because I didn't expect anything. Armando, the sweetheart he is knew he had to trick me for things to actually be a surprise.

Armando took time to decorate my room on Friday with heart balloons and Hershey Kisses surrounding my floor and bed. I had a long day at work, and to walk into my room and surprised of what Armando took the time to do for me. Tears really filled my eyes, I was so thankful!

This set the my mood for the rest of the weekend. The next day we had a panic dinner with my all time favorite Chocolate cake, "The great Wall of Chocolate" from PF Changes. Please be advise, this a very sinful piece of cake. Your diet will be executed, filled with thousands of calories, but know, its soooo worth it. Call me if you're going.I hope everyone Valentine's or as some like to say Single Awareness day, was great!

Enjoy life, not expecting every move of the day!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! I have a surprise.....but you will have to wait for later to hear all about it. For now enjoy the video I made for my Valentine. (Make one for your Valentine on Animoto)

Random things in Germany

2009-02-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

So I never got a chance to tell you about all the random things I found in Germany. Yes, there were many "randoms" on my trip, but I went ahead and narrowed them down to the top 5 things you find in Germany and not in America. So sit back and enjoy a good laugh.

Random Hit #1
Shoe Shining machine
Yup, that is right, I stayed in three different hotels, and every single one of them had a free shoe shiners. Nice, my shoes looked great, but random.Random Hit #2
I had never really thought about it but the cross walk signs are completely different. Yeah, I guess a lot of different countries have different signs. Common sense, but random.Random Hit#3
Car size

As you all have seen in movies or maybe you have travel around Europe, the streets are narrow and small. For this reason you get majorly small, small, small cars. The smallest car I saw, was a one sitter with three wheels. Here is a picture of an average size vehicle in Germany. Random Hit#4

Coat Racks
Now most of you all know what a coat rack is used for. I know we don't use them in Arizona but most of you have traveled somewhere in the mid-west or east, where they do use them.
In Berlin we kept seeing these green telephone booths in random places on the street. Little did we know they were not telephone booths, they actually were coat racks. Yes, random coat racks on the side of street. I know, your thinking how odd, but there is a sense to this green booth. They were actually coat racks for police officers. Kind of makes sense but still random.Random Hit #5
Flush
This was one of the most exciting parts of Europe, the Bathrooms and by far the most random thing I found in Germany. See there I am on the seat, finishing up my routine, wipe, stand, buckle and then flush. When all of sudden I'm looking for the to handle to flush. I look around for a moment and then I notice this huge button in front of my eyes. I then realize this huge, 2 foot button infront of me is the flush. How weird.... no handle!
So that is the winner, if you don't see a handle, look for the giant button in front of your eyes.

Enjoy life, and the randoms-

School in Session

2009-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

Today was my first test of the semester, yes I know....we are what, week three and my professor already has the urge to test me. I tried to be a good student and write my note cards out and make a plan to start studying the week off the test. However, it got down to Wednesday night and there I am studying at least sixty notes cards, with words like "non-spuriousness" and "serendipity pattern", honestly I hope I never have to use terms like these in my career.
Overall, the true outcome to this blog is the fact to tell you all of the many other things I rather be doing then learning sixty terms about Research and statistics.

#1 Sleeping! Here are my niece and nephews, asleep after a long day of playing, 4 people, 2 dogs, can you find them all.#2 Getting a pedicure with my girls. My mom, 3 sisters and niece.
#3 Being KISSED! oh yes, I love to kiss, but I love it more when Armando kisses me.
#4 Having Dinner with my girl friends, plus drinking VIRGIN margarita, I love fancy drinks.

#5 Blogging! What else do I need. :)

-Enjoying life, NOT studying!

STA Travel's 2009 World Traveler Internship

2009-01-30T10:26:00.001-08:00

Our fellow StAR member Amarone Thach was introduced to the creative world of video. I was able to give him some pointers on imovie to better advance his skills of film. I am honestly blow out of the water of how his end piece turned out. I know he has spent all of this his free time working diligently on this video for the pass couple of weeks. Amarone's ability to warp him self around something he is really cares about and create such an amazing piece is true passion. He defiantly deserves this position with STA, and if they don't choose him, they will missing out on the best candidate. I know his creativity and passion will lead him to go far in his career of Tourism. (What to learn more about STA and Amarone, click here)

Do me a favor, watch the video, enjoy a good laugh and don't forget to get on YouTube and vote, FIVE STARS! ......Enjoy

History in the Making!

2009-01-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

Today will be a proud day in American history. Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president.
Years later, generations will look back at this day in history books as the day America made the choose for change. Where hundreds of thousands of people streamed into Washington to witness his inauguration as the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the United States.

Looking back into history, I can never imagine what it really felt like when Martin Luther King gave his speech, "I have a Dream". I begin to think this feeling of being proud to be American and excited for change is maybe a fraction of what those 250,000 people whom marched on Washington, D.C to listen Dr. King address felt.
President Obama, just like Dr. King was ready for change.

Recalling a verse from the 1st Book of Corinthians, Obama said, “The time has come to set aside childish things,” and he declared: “Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. “But know this, America — they will be met.”

-Enjoy life, enjoy America!

Passion from the inside-out

2009-01-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

I have just return from another trip but this time it was directed towards educational purposes. Indianapolis is known for the Indy car races, Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, breaded pork tenderloins, and even the famous Steak and Shake. However, this year Indianapolis housed the American Humanics Management Institute. Where 800 students were surround with nonprofit CEO, VP, board members and professionals. Just as last year in Kansas City, the institute was filled with well-rounded workshops, a national dialog, case study, career expo, placement services, and new to this year, a service project. This institute is a national conference for so many students to really get the vibe of what American Humanics is all about. For me, it was the seal of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The institute is filled with inspirational moments that inspire students to dig deep into the guts of nonprofit work as you soul search for the niche you belong too.

(AH Students: Hugo Polanco, Emily Curry, Samuel Richard, Jaclyn Goris)

This was my second time attending AHMI (American Humanics Management Institute) and just like the first I returned home proud to be a nonprofit major. At AHMI you get the chance to bond with students from your own program and other university across the nation. You get to hear from amazing speakers that spark the fire in each of our hearts. But most of all you get to feel a part of this huge group of students and professionals across nation ready to make the next step in saving the world. AHMI 2009 theme, "The Power of Stories: Passion from the inside-out" focused on the many stories of how students and professionals found the passion to step into nonprofit profession . The conferences also focused on world and domestic hunger. One of the greatest speakers I have every heard was that opening night at the conferences. We were very lucky to hear from Robert Egger founder and President of the DC Central Kitchen, "where unemployed men and women learn marketable culinary skills while foods donated by restaurants, hotels and caterers are converted into balanced meals". He spoke about the passion he had to find within himself to start the DC Central Kitchen. He inspired the crowd but little did we know we inspired him. From his blog:

"Talk about a solid way to usher in a bold new year…and talk about a wildly motivated cohort of future leaders. I tell you what, I’ve spoken all over the country, and flat out— this upcoming generation is our salvation. They are wholeheartedly into the “what’s next” debate and I aim to help them find their voice. I love my generation, and I will continue to try to be part of the dialogue that helps them loosen their grip on the sector, so that this new generation (who have more of an economic stake in the race than we do) can begin to try new ideas, new tactics and…at times, entirely new economic and political approaches to solving really tough social issues that charity alone cannot even dent".

(AH Students: Geneva Hodges, Frank Carbone, Andrea Payne, Racheal Mangum)

It's hard to imagine the salvation of the world in our hands but it is true. We are up to bat the next term of difficulties, and hopefully we don't strike out. Those three days packed with professional training and inspiration is what I am going to have to top off next year in my internship. I'm ready....ready to inspire and stir in that spark of motivation in each every student that attends the amazing conference, American Humanics Management/Leadership Institute.

-Enjoying life as a nonprofit student.

The Conclusion

2009-01-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

The revealing of another culture first hand was amazing. It truly is something that all students should try to experience. Especially if you are Tourism major because it not only is a trip across the world, but it really gives you the understanding and knowledge of how hospitality and management in other countries are run. I have recently added a Convention Sales and Meeting Planning certificate to my study. I have only taking one tourism class but I have already began to feel the aura of how the Tourism major is structured. Dr. Teye (my professor from TDM 205) spoke of traveling constantly and usually international traveling. I felt a little out of place in class, mainly because so many students had already been out of the country and could give real life experiences to the class material. One of my fellow StAR members, Amarone is a tourism major and has had a chance to do a good amount of traveling. I am pretty sure it has benefited his tourism knowledge.

Not only do Tourism major benefit from international traveling but also any student can. Along the way students can experiences and debate the social controls and problem solving within a society having different politics and history. You get the chance to look into the guts of an unfamiliar culture and gain a true and rounded education. Overall, students get a chance to feel, see, taste and hear the other side of the world. I never noticed how narrow minded I was, I really do have more of an open mind of the world and people in it.

My Germany trip was filled with rich culture, that I defiantly enjoyed indulging in. The people were extremely kind and friendly. I cant wait to return to Europe.

-Enjoy the rest of the photos, it feels good to be home.

BERLIN

2009-01-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

What dose it feel like to be in Berlin! one word..... Amazing!

Berlin is filled with history, culture and fun! As soon as I got off the train people were surrounding me in the largest train station in Europe. We walked out to see the glowing lights of Berlin as my body felt the cold wind, turning my checks to rosy pink. I was in love and ready to explore the amazing city! Unfortunately, it was late and I was hungry, so I would have to sleep and await for what Christmas Eve would bring me in Berlin.

The next day I embarked into Berlin. It was rainy and cold but didn't stop me, prepared with my umbrella, I was thrilled to see all of the monuments, memorials and the statues. It was really easy to think, "wow these are beautiful buildings" but honestly standing in front of a wall that split families and friends, brought tears to my eyes. I stood next to a wall where refugees who had reached that area were shot without warning............................history...........it can be shocking and so much more real when your staring at it.
To end my adventures day in History, we went to the Blue Man Group.
Blue Man Group is unlike any other show. It is simply three blue-hued men dressed in black who make music, make you laugh and make you think. The show is part comedy, part performance art and part wacky science experiment. They never utter a word, but instead use their eyes, facial expressions and gestures to evoke responses from the audience. It was a fantastic show, that is worth going to see. Enjoy life...before it becomes History,

Germany Cont.

2008-12-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

Another city a new day in Germany.

Today we are in Kölon Germany. It is a larger city than Trier but not as big as Berlin, where we will be tomorrow. Kolon cathedral is one of the world's largest churches, being the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. The cathedral is known for housing the three wise men relics.

When you first lock your eyes on it, you feel mesmerized. Each time I pass by the church I almost felt it was fake. We American's just aren't used to something that old and beautiful.
What really got me, was the fact that this building survived fourteen hits by aerial bombs during World War II. It did not collapse, but stood tall in an otherwise flattened city.
I really enjoyed the people in Kolon and the history. I cant wait to learn even more about the history or Germany.

(Below is a photo I found off the Internet after the bombings in WWII)

Germany update

2008-12-20T11:12:00.001-08:00

Hello, Greetings from Germany...

I am having a great time here. It is Saturday night and the last time I slept in a bed was Thursday night in AZ. I only slept for two hours so I am a little sleep deprived. Our flight consisted of two airplane flights equaling 15hrs long. I was lucky enough to get the middle seat
:(where I sat behind a little girl that loved kicking my chair. Each time I was on the verge to falling asleep, I got a good kick in the back of the seat. By the time my patience was pretty thin, I turned around and asked her parents if she could ask her daughter to stop kicking. Her Father decided to tell me that, "he was sorry but she was trying to get her to fall asleep". Her mother than said, "you can move to open seat and sleep there". Great!

Besides that, I have been venturing through Germany. Tonight we are at Trier, we had dinner in a restaurant underground. We then walked around the Christmas markets and I finally went to H&M! I didn't buy anything but at least I can say I went. Ü
So here I am ready to get a good night sleep for my next adventure in Germany.
~Enjoy life in American, while I do in Germany

This is a picture of the view from my hotel window, pretty sweet.

Christmas Vacation

2008-12-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

I'm off to Germany for a week! See you all when I get back.
Happy Holidays
Don't worry there will be a full update when I am home. Enjoy Life!

Happy Finals

2008-12-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before finals
Andrew Hund, 1993

Twas the night before finals,
And all through the college,
The students were praying
For last minute knowledge.

Most were quite sleepy,
But none touched their beds,
While visions of essays
Danced in their heads.

Out in the taverns,
A few were still drinking,
And hoping that liquor
Would loosen their thinking.

In my own apartment,
I had been pacing,
And dreading exams
I soon would be facing.

My roommate was speechless,
His nose in his books,
And my comments to him
Drew unfriendly looks.

I drained all the coffee,
And brewed a new pot,
No longer caring
That my nerves were shot.

I stared at my notes,
But my thoughts were muddy,
My eyes went a blur,
I just couldn't study.

"Some pizza might help,"
I said with a shiver,
But each place I called
Refused to deliver.

I'd nearly concluded
That life was too cruel,
With futures depending
On grades had in school.

When all of the sudden,
Our door opened wide,
And Patron Saint Put-It-Off
Ambled inside.

His spirit was careless,
His manner was mellow,
He looked all around and
He started to bellow.

"What kind of student
Would make such a fuss,
To toss back at teachers
What they tossed at us?"

"On Cliffs Notes! On Crib Notes!
On Last Year's Exams!
On Wingit and Slingit,
And Last Minute Crams!"

His message delivered,
He vanished from sight,
But we heard him exclaiming
Outside in the night.

"Your teachers have pegged you,
So just do your best,
Happy Finals to All,
And to all, a good test."

Help Save Lives

2008-11-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

Now I am not a coffee drinker, there are very rare times I actually drink coffee. (Usually when I am pulling an all-nighter studying for finals!) But, how I know so many of you that do, so please take the time to watch this video, help the cause.

November 27, every time you buy a special (STARBUCKS) RED product, a contribution will be made to the Global Fund, to help save lives in Africa, through (RED) WIRE. It’s all part of our commitment to give back to the communities where Starbucks dose business.

Wait you don't drink coffee either....Well you can still help by purchasing items that have signed on with (RED) WIRE to send money to Africa to help the HIV cause. So please go to the website below and purchase Christmas gifts from these companies that are giving back. We are all connected and can help Together! http://www.joinred.com/Home.aspx

Enjoy Life- Together

The cool List

2008-11-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

I guess I missed it. Yup ....I got the cut...off the cool list.

See right now, everybody has a blog post about Twilight, and how they went to see it. Either they are a dying fans or someone drag them out to see it. Well I am neither, no one drag me and I'm not a fan. But here I am writing a blog about how I missed Twilight.
Seriously everybody is taking about the Vampire movie, they have pictures and funny stories about the night. Its not that I didn't know it was playing, everybody has been taking about the movie with the cute guy named Edward. Obviously I didn't know I was really missing out.
Well, guess what I did that night, I took a test till 10:00pm for my online class. After that had dinner with Armando and Native. Came home and crashed by midnight. No, cool stories, no cute pictures, just another ordinary day for Candi.
I must be getting old!
And I must be the only person that hasn't seen Twilight yet.
I have high hopes to maybe see it this weekend.

Until then, enjoy life-

Opportunity of a Life Time!

2008-11-21T15:32:00.000-08:00

Its official I am the intern for the 2010 American Humanics Management Institute!

What does that mean? First of all, I have a internship when I graduate and which entitles a 40 hour J.O.B! I have a contract to work with AHMI till Feb 2010. It also means I will be planning the annual institute for 1,000 students and nonprofit professional nationwide. The institute will be held in Phoenix, AZ, in January of 2010. This is pretty huge for me, I will get the opportunity to literally plan a conference, using all of the skills I have gained for the past four years at ASU. I will get to help fundraise and plan the entire 4 day event!!!

I have officially already started my internship last Thursday, I will not be putting as many hours in until January 2009 but it will still keep me busy. I extremely excited to get things started and to really get my hands wet in event planning. I hope I can make 2010 institute the best year ever. I want to thank everyone who helped me get to this spot in my life. I could not be happier, thank you....I feel as if though I have already succeeded.

(AHMI 2008 in Kansas City, looking forward to AHMI 2009 Indianapolis)

Want to know more about AHMI? Visit their site: Click here "The American Humanics Management/Leadership Institute (AHMI) is an intensive educational symposium established by American Humanics in 1973. AHMI provides the capstone experience in nonprofit management and leadership education. Local and national nonprofit leaders present issues pertinent to professional leadership and engage participants through workshops, dialogues, forums and case studies". You can also watch a video about American Humanics "Turning Passion into Results"

All grown up!

2008-11-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Last week was my nephew's birthday, Noah turned three. As I showed up to the birthday party I started to realize how time had pass so fast. It feels just like yesterday that I was holding Tyler in my arms. Its unbelievable to think he is now ten years old. I have a total of three nephews and one niece, and they are growing up too fast. It's about that stage where they start think there Tia, is old and not as cool as they thought she was. It's okay, at heart I still feel like the cool Tia, no matter what.
Its kind of like when you were younger and people would come up to you and say, oh I remember when you were this tall, I remember you running around in diapers. Yah, I am becoming that person.

Well Noah's birthday was a wake up call...I really need to be a better aunt. I really need to spend more time with my nephews and nieces before they are too old. The rest of evening I sat back just watched my family.....we are all growing up.
All Noah wanted for his birthday was a shotgun so he could shoot the birds. Where he got this idea, I will have to say from his brothers and there BB gun, a little scray. So, for now he got a toy shot gun.

I must say though, Ceci made the cake, an ice cream cake. I was very impressed with her new
talent, it tasted delicious.

Enjoy life...before your grown up...

I am NOT a Cowgirl

2008-11-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning Armando decided to surprise me and take me out to Cave creek. Why Cave Creek you ask...well he had arranged a horse back riding. I have never ridden a horse! Yes, you read right never! You think I would of, considering my best friends both have horses (Jo and Andrea) or maybe the fact the my brother use to be a cowboy and my sister would ride horse all the time with her friends. I mean I have seen a plenty amount of horses, (I'm in the Lehi Stake, bound to seeing and smell farm life) I even went to feed and clean horses.
Well any how back to my story, Armando surprised me with a fun morning riding horses. We had a good time while a tour guide took us around the mountains in Cave Creek. The day was perfect, not to hot, not to cold, clear skies! Riding a horse for the first time was a little scary but within the first 15mins I was getting the hang of it. I must say though, I am NOT a cowgirl....I am Urban city girl, wearing my Converts, jeans and Peace earrings with my city scarf, I look a little ridiculous riding a horse.

I know, I am wearing a cowgirl hat... which I am totally not a cowgirl, but it was fun wearing it. :)-Enjoying life, and the adventures in it.

Happy Obama Day!

2008-11-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there," Obama, Chicago, Illinois Nov. 4th 2008

History was made last night, Obama is the first African-American to win the White House. Yesterday was a day filled excitement and pride in our country. Casting my vote in the historic election, is going to be a day I never forget. My father and I both had a chance to vote for the first time in our lives. My father a recent citizen since September was every thrilled to cast his ballot. He had a lot of questions but we both walked out proud to have our stickers, I voted today!

Campus was also filled with the exciting feeling of presidential election! I spent some time in the Cronkite building at the presidential election count down. They had popcorn, cookies and the large screen projecting the votes coming in. A lot of students came out to support McCain and Obama. The Cronkite students where filming and interviewing live through out the event. The school even had Mayor Gordon stop by the event. It was a great place to be excited about the election. Although I wish I was in Chicago that night.

Overall, it was a proud day to be United States citizen

Wait! Except the fact that we still elected a hate-mongering sheriff to his 5th term. I am really disappointed in Arizona. A man that can beat people in prison to death and get away with it. A man that can focus so much hate towards immigrants and spend our tax money on witch hunts for day to day people living their normal lives. Its called Racial profiling! Congrats to change but when will Arizona notice that we are being left behind in step towards change. When will Arizona learn that hate is never the answer.

Enjoy life-

Happy Halloween

2008-11-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

This Halloween I didn't get a chance to plan my annual party, but I still got a chance to have fun with my family. The day before Halloween my brothers and I tried to put their costumes together from things we found around our home. If you have ever been to my house, you know we have to much of random things, laying around. My brothers decided they were going to be nerds, I thought of maybe being a princess, I put my Quincenera dress on but it wouldn't zip up all the way. I guess I am not the same size as I was when I was 14, how sad.

(Jouse and Jacob)

Halloween day was filled with different people. I started by picking up my niece from school, she needed some help putting her costume. She wanted to be a vampire and all she had was a cap. We stopped by my Tyler and Sebastian home (nephews) to say hi. Tyler was pretty excited about his costume, he was a TACO! Yup you heard me right, a Taco. I mean who wouldn't be excited about something like that.(Tyler)

(Ernest and Emilee)

I ended up going home painting Emilee's face, rushing to get dressed and headed over Andrea's home. I had to paint McKenzie's face, she was a little butterfly! We all then headed over to the ward truck and treat.(Mckenzie)

I finally headed home, finished getting ready and went out with my girlfriends.(Luly, Me, Lauren)

Enjoy the pictures. Enjoy Life!

It's Time.

2008-11-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Finally, tomorrow is the big day! Voting day! Please get out there and vote. Two candidates, make your choice.....

Obama

McCain

Who ever you choose, exercise your freedom and Vote.

Enjoy life-

Halloween Already?

2008-10-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

Its been forever....... I know..... school has kept me busy.

However went to a fun Halloween party this weekend. I decided to be a Magician this year, I love wearing a top hat. I even had a cute assistant, Lourdes is still waiting for her costume to come in the mail, so we dressed her up in black and made her my assistant for the night. Although, I don't know any cool tricks and people kept asking me if I knew anything. I think my goal this week is to learn a trick to go with my costume.

Enjoy Life

Missing me?

2008-09-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

So much has happen in three weeks! I am sorry I have been another world. Its called ASU! Yes I'm back to school and for some reason I find it even harder to do everything. I really need to get the hang of being back but I feel so unbalanced. Besides the point of being back to school it was my birthday this past Wednesday! Actually the entire week was my birthday.

Tuesday Night fun began with a surprise from my good friends, Andrea, Lauren and Kristina. I'm sitting in the parking lot with my friend Jacklyn and all of a sudden I see a white car pool up behind us all fast......then I knew exactly what was happening. They gave me flowers, a cupcake, and pretty much tired to kidnapped me. In the end we went to Sting Ray in Scottsdale, I love sushi. I was out until midnight starting my birthday celebration.
Wednesday morning I woke up to my parents and brothers singing me Happy Brithday. It was really sweet but at 6am is not the time I would usually want to be sung too. After my morning fun, I had lunch with my friend Liz, more sushi..... Did I tell you how much I love sushi. :) I ended the night with a home cooked dinner at the "girls" (Andrea, Lauren and Kristian) apartment with a movie and cake.
Thursday was like any other day, with a birthday dinner at night with my close high school friends. We had a fun night at PF Chang's Bistro. Even though Andee's truck go towed we still survived the entire night.
Friday was amusing night! I had a birthday dinner (I know again) with most of my friends. We had dinner at Buca de Beppo in Scottsdale. I had a small crises before my dinner but everything was solved thanks to good friends. I was late as usual but everyone was too. :) The night lead into more adventures at the night clubs. I had a great birthday, dancing, food and the best company I could have.
I want to thank my family and friends, especially Andrea, Lauren, Kristina and Jaclyn for making everything happen. I owe you girls big time. Muchas Gracias

-Enjoying life being one more year older

Its funny how things work out!

2008-08-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

Its funny how you start searching for one thing on the internet and then you run into something else and then after an hour or so you realized you are completely reading a subject that had nothing to do with your original search. Well this always happens to me, really I set off to find something to blog about but then I'm blogging about a different subject.

This is how I started my thinking processes for this blog. I original thought I would blog something lite and nice, since school is going to start next week. I went to youtube to find a funny video about back to school. After viewing video after video I ended up watching a video series called Threadbangers (which are pretty good videos). As I watched one video and then another I ended up watching one of the series about back to school fashion, which then brought me to stenciling. Then I get on this hook that I want to try spray painting stenciling. I start searching free downloads of stencils and I end up finding a link to Sheriff Joe Arpaio Stencil graffiti in Mesa. So I read this blog post about Sheriff Arpaio and then decided to search the News Story. So here I am blogging about Sheriff Arpaio and the graffiti that happen in Mesa. This happened in early July but since I was in San Francisco I didn't hear about it. Now as I read article and blogs about this incident I wonder what and how to react to it. Honestly I really don't like Sheriff Arpaio, so its easy for me to laugh when I saw the graffiti but then I kind of thought about the whole graffiti or Art perspective. So is it Graffiti or Art? I also read one Article from the East Valley Tribune that stated this could be a Hate Crime. At first I thought, why would this be a hate crime, its the truth. But really I guess it defiantly is a hate crime, its racist (even if he is racist). So I am a little at lost with this but it sure makes you think about things twice.

Keep on enjoying Life-

Cha Cha

2008-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

In California I learned about Cha Cha. I had heard about it before but never really thought about using it. It wasn't until I used it in Cali that I realized Cha Cha, is amazing!!! "Cha Cha is like having a smart friend you can call or text for answers on your cell phone anytime for free! ChaCha works with virtually every provider and allows people with any mobile phone device - from basic flip phones to advanced smart phones - to ask any question in conversational English and receive an accurate answer as a text message in just a few minutes". You can ask Cha Cha anything and they do there best to answer. I am addicted to Cha Cha, anything I wonder about I ask Cha Cha. From questions like How many countries are there? To what movies are playing?
I recommend everyone to try it out. Simply text your question to 242242 (spells ‘ChaCha’).

Remember it's FREE!!!

I love it so much I just applied to be Cha Cha Guide. Wish me luck, hopefully I will be answering your questions soon.

Check out a video, to learn more:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=721603319

-Enjoy Life

Leaving my California Ways

2008-08-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Leaving California was harder then I thought it was going to be. I love living in the bay area and especially love the people there. As much as I wanted to be back in Az with family and friends, I loved my California life! Things were so nice, laid back and relaxing. Its completely a different way of living, things are causal, calming, and easy going. I had great friends that loved to have fun and try new things. The weather was Heaven and there was always something to do outside. The food was always interesting, seriously there are so many places to pick from, you name it they got it. The Beach was were I always wanted to be, I loved Santa Cruz. Everything in the Bay Area is just so beautiful. However all of this had to come to an end.

The last night I was there my roommates threw me a goodbye party. We went to my favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner and of course frozen yogurt after dinner. I ended the night baking cookies at midnight and driving from blockbuster to blockbuster trying to find the George Lopez Comedy (which by the way we didn't find).
My Salvadorian Girls
My California Parents: Melvin and Alma

Well vacation had to end............... and here I am back in AZ.

Trying to Enjoy life without the Beach-

Intern Fun

2008-07-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Being a Intern you get to do pretty much something different everyday. Last week was an extra adventures day. Theresa (the other intern) and I received the assignment to take pictures of the participant of the nonprofit institute. Now the only problem here is when you give a nice camera to two girls, they are bound to take pictures of them self.
After we took pictures of the participants, we were sent into a small room to edit and post the pictures we had taken. So here is our edited and now posted pictures, OF US!

Being a intern is always fun!!

Pupusas Night

2008-07-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Pupusas Group, Nichole, Me and Valentino. We love being El Salvadorian

Last Monday night I went to Nichole Tia's home for Pupupsa Night!!!! Pupupsas are the traditional food of El Salvador. (Where I am from) It was a fun night with the missionaries and Nichole's family. Judy, Nichole's Aunt made a dozens and dozens of puppusas......I guess I should explain what pupusas are to all of you who are lost right now. Pupusas are thick tortilla with cheese, meat or beans in the center. You eat them with cabbage mix and red salsa. They are absolutely delicious. We also had platanios, beans and crema, its a traditional breakfast food for El Salvadorians. Wow all of this food is making me hungry so let me finish telling you about the evening.

The missionaries wanted to help make pupusas, so they decided they would learn. This was funny, those poor missionaries, getting their hands all dirty, trying to make the perfect pupusa. Its okay after many tries they finally, kind of got it!

The night was filled with laughter, food and fun.

-Enjoying Frisco, El Salvadorian Style

Saturday Dance Fever

2008-07-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the perfect day. I slept in until......... well maybe I shouldn't say, you might think I'm lazy. After I got up, I headed to Target with Nichole to do some light shopping. By the time we got back, we ate and began to get ready. We were heading over to a dance party in Menlo Park, three cities from Sunnyvale. It was a black and white party, so we made sure we were decked out in black and white from head to toe. We were all ready and excited to get our dance on.
The dance ended up being a blast. A lot of people showed up and I felt like I was in a dance club. They had a disco ball, the lights and a really good DJ. The only thing he was missing was the Latin Music.
Enjoying Life-

The perfect Beach Day

2008-07-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

I had Friday off, so my weekend began that afternoon at the beach. Santa Cruz has a fun atmosphere. It has a board walk with roller-coasters, games and food. The board walk is right on the beach, so we hit up a couple of rides before we got into the ocean. The water was cold but the sun was out. I really got tan, pretty much as good as an Arizona tan! That is my kind of afternoon, a sunny day listening to the waves crash onto the beach. It was relaxing, exactly what I needed. As always I had great company from my friends, Nicole and Valentino. I am enjoying life here in the Bay Area, it is going to be hard to leave in three weeks. For now, enjoy life.........

The Dark Knight

2008-07-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the theater at 9:00pm to find a long line running from the front of the theater all the way to the entrance of the mall. The movie didn't start until midnight but many fans had already arrived two hours before I did. People were eating pizza, playing boards games, cards and chatting with everyone in line. Two hours standing in line went by fast with the company of good friends and ice cream.
We finally got to enter the theater and of course, I ran to find a good seat. I almost got the perfect seat but I didn't. Getting through the previews was hard but finally the movie started. I was at the edge of my seat the through out the whole movie. Wow Heath Ledger did a great job as the Joker. This is by far the best movie he has done. I really enjoyed Batman Begins but the Dark Knight blew it out of the water. Everyone should watch this movie, it will keep you on your toes and full of suspense. It will stun and surprise, delight and terrify, and it won’t be the special effects, gizmo's and bat-heroics that will keep you pinned to your seat, but the script and an ending that takes our hero, to even darker realms. Be excited!
Enjoy these pictures of crazy fans that dressed up.

Living and enjoying the life in California

Weekend to Remember

2008-07-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

So I have updated in which seems forever but really its only been a week. I have been having a lot of fun, so the time doesn't exist when your having fun.

I had some friends in town this weekend and we had a blast!!! I dont know where to start but all I know is that the weekend was one of the best weekends. My friends brought me a little home to me. I felt like I was back in AZ just with great weather.

Instead of telling you word to word of how much fun I had, check out the pictures. I will captions, follow along.It started Thursday evening, Yoshi and Luly arrivedFriday came and we spent the day at Great AmericaWe on rides after rides. This one was bad!!!And this one was worse. This is where I was upside down, for way too long!!!

But I never stop laughing and of course screaming!

The fun doesn't end there we spent Saturday downtown Frisco.

Yah these are my girls!

The best part of Frisco is there is always something going on. Tons of people all day long roaming the streets. We had fun taking random pictures with randoms things we found.

Girls thanks for coming to see me. I had a great time and couldn't asked for more.

-Enjoying Life in Frisco

The 4th brings.....

2008-07-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July was a blast! I had a great time celebrating it with my California friends. We went to a breakfast in a really nice house and Steve Young was hanging out. It was nice to meet him and the company was nice.
Later that evening we had a small BBQ and I am done eating BBQ for a while. BBQ was good but eating it all week long, I am done!
We ended our day watching fireworks at the park. I got to use my fireworks setting on my camera, hope you enjoy the pictures.

Before I end my blog, I need to say a little about my grandmother. She was born on 4th of July and today is a day that we always remember her. My grandmother passed away when I was twelves year old. My members of her are few, but I cant wait to meet her in our next life.
To Emma Rosalie Escobar we love you.

Enjoying Life

My Home, Arizona

2008-07-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit home. Yes, I was in Arizona! Oh the four days in good 120 degree weather. Like my brother said it, a vacation from my vacation.

I had a good time surprising my family, really they had no idea I was coming. They all got together for my sister birthday and there I go walking in, mouths drop and excitement filled the air. They were all excited to see me. My brother had just bought his new scooter, obviously to help save the environment and money.Of course like a true Henriquez Arizonian I woke up Saturday at 3:30 in the morning, stumbling in the dark I grabbed my towel and flip flops and I was out the door. We made it to the lake by 5 :00 am to get the first clear water. My three older brothers and two older sisters out at the lake ready to catch the wake. The sun was barely up and the cool air and warm water was perfect. We had a great time wake-boarding and 9:00am we were done. I spent the rest of the day out in the sun watching my younger brothers soccer game. Finally the heat hit me and I was exhausted by five o'clock. I still had plans for evening, exhausted, but I hung in there.I ended my trip visiting friends but mostly with family. I wasn't ready to go back but I probably wouldn't be for a while, so I had to force myself back on the plane. I left 120 degree weather and returned to foggy 58 degrees, San Francisco.

Enjoy Life-

Waiting and still waiting

2008-07-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

I live in Sunnyvale but I work in San Francisco. It takes me about a good hour n half to two hours to get to work. Yes you read right, that is a long time! So this post is dedicated to all time I waste, especially since there is no internet access on public transportation!

Here we go:
- 7:00am, get ready, daily routine and out the door by 7:50am. (Of course, if I am trying to look nice that day add 45 mins to wake up call.)

-7:50am I walk about 2 blocks and half to get to the train station.
-8:13am Get on Caltrain but its usually late! Then I take my 45 min ride to San Francisco. We make a total of 5 stops, because I take the bullet train, which cuts out more than half the stops.

-9:02am off the Caltrain, on too the T (city train)
-9:13am the T finally picks me up, this train is always late. Its suppose to run every 10 mins but it really runs every 15 mins and then 2 mins apart from the next train. grr!

-9:20am Take the muni bus

-9:32am I finally get off the bus, walk to blocks and somehow make it to my work
-9:40am Time to Work.

As you can see this an adventure in adventure to get work! I love public transportation but not this much.
Okay, so this is where I need some help.

Within all this time wasted I have created a new habit its called reading. (although I still use my ipod regularly) Honestly reading, I have read three books in one month. Now I am usually reading but never for my own pleasure. I usually have to ready books from school, which well are all exciting but I rather read what I want to read. So here I am asking you all to give me an answer, What book should I read next? I want to know all of your favorite books you recommend, so bring it on.

Enjoying Life in San Francisco

Internship Update

2008-06-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't really talked about my new intern and all of the wonderful things I do. So here is my update for now. I work at BAVC Bay Area Video Coalition. It is a nonprofit that "brings cultural and economic participation to underserved communities through media, and the belief that telling compelling stories is powerful for both media maker and audience. Over the last 30 years, BAVC has developed an entrepreneurial web of programs and services that brings together a multi-generational mix of artists, experienced media professionals, educators, low-income youth and adults, non-profit organizations and industry partners in this pursuit". Overall BAVC is trying to bring technology to everyone!
Not only am I passionate about nonprofit work, I have always been passionate about Technology and staying up to date with the new media.

So far I have been working on their new website and office work.
However, in July I am really excited to be working on a nonprofit institute. I will be helping organize and produce a institute where 10 nonprofits will have the chance to come into BAVC facilities to "learn how they can use mobile or other new media application to better serve their constituencies, realize their program goals, and maximize the fiscal benefits of new technologies within their organization".
I cant wait to help plan this event. I will get to really understand what it takes to plan an event, while at the same time meet 10 nonprofits in the bay area, networking!!!

BAVC has a lot of great documentaries and videos created in their facilities. I have been watching many, due too transferring them to the new website. I will try to post a couple every once in a while. Here is my all time favorite. Please take the time to watch it, you will love it.

-Enjoying life in San Francisco

Slip of Tongue

Green is the new BLACK

2008-06-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

I saw a shirt yesterday it said the following, "Green is the new BLACK".Living here in San Francisco I have learned a new way of life. The bay area is all about the "green". Every where I go the bay area is always surprising me with something even more exciting that they are doing to help the environment. Being here almost a month now, I have changed my life style of living, I have gone GREEN and there is no coming back! Its hard not too, seriously everyone here recycles, brings their own bags to the grocery store, walks, rides public transportation, and you know those carry out/take out dishes, well here there they use a recycle material to make them. It doesn't stop there, the bay area even has "Spare the air day" were public transportation is free, pretty much this movement is amazing and the bay area is all over it.As we all know the new epic is all about going "Green" and how we can help preserve our world. Recently they have had a huge boom of cars converting to cooking oil. Edward sent me a good article from the NY times about how cooking oil is getting stolen from restaurants. When I read I couldn't help to laugh, its unbelievable, cooking oil is getting stolen. A local restaurant stated, “Ten years ago we couldn’t give this stuff away. Now everybody’s fighting over it.” Hopefully our new president can come up with a way to fix this problem(and the many more we have).

-Enjoying life in San Francisco, going "Green" style