Christmas 2012

Well another Christmas has come and gone. I still cannot believe that in just a few hours it is going to be 2013. Sometimes I wish that time would go a little faster but after it is gone I want more time. This Christmas was one of the best Christmas's that I have had in a really long time. I worked Christmas Eve night. It was kind of a slow night and kinda long. My brother and sister-in-law have recently bought a new house and they wanted to be able to celebrate in their new home. On Christmas day, Gabe and I went to Ogden to Scott and Brooke's house. It was so much fun to see the girls show us all of their presents that Santa brought. Their little eyes lit up, and they were so excited to play with all the toys. It reminded me that Christmas is such a magical time. We opened up our gifts from each other, ate dinner, played games, and watched a movie. Gabe and I slept over. It was so nice to be with our own little family and spend quality time with them. I cannot wait for the day that Gabe and I have our little ones running around and getting excited for Santa. This week has been somewhat crazy though. Between Christmas and my in-laws coming I have kept pretty busy. We are so excited that Lucia and Marcello are here. I don't think that we really know how much we miss them until they are here. It has been so fun and so wonderful to have them here. We do not get to see them that often and so when they are here, we take advantage of it. We are going to celebrate New Years together and then on Thurs, we are all flying to San Diego. It will be so much fun. I cannot wait to just have time to relax and have time for ourselves. It is a much needed break. I hope you all have an amazing and safe New Years!!!!!

Tis the Season

          I cannot believe that is already December already! I feel as though this year has gone by so fast. It only seems just yesterday that Gabe and I were getting married. Over the last few years I have been less fond of Christmas. I am not sure if it's because I am getting older and becoming a scrooge, or because I don't have any kids. I just feel that instead of being a time for family and the true meaning of Christmas, it is rushed and stressful. For the past few weeks I have been trying to  de-junk my house. My mother and brother in law are going to be here just after Christmas. I can't wait for them to get here because we miss them terribly. But this time is going to be a little different. They are staying with us. I am a little nervous. I have a  tendency to over think things and freak out a lot. I just want everything to be perfect. So i have been trying to get the house together.  I have been so wrapped up in cleaning that I have forgotten that I still need to buy gifts. I have not done one ounce of  Christmas shopping. I just feel that there is so much to be done and so little time.  I have Gabe's gifts and that's it.
     When I first moved here to SLC, my mother gave me my grandpa Krim's old Christmas tree for my apartment. I have used this Christmas tree for the last 5 years. My grandpa used this tree for many years and it was old to begin with.  Last year as Gabe and I put up the Christmas tree, we decided that it was time to retire it. Everytime that we would touch it, the branches would fall off and it just looks so bare. So this year I wanted to have a pretty tree. We got a pre-lit tree so that we don't have to string lights ourselves. I even made my own ornaments. This is the one thing that I enjoy doing. I am pretty excited to put it up. Pictures to come soon!
      Even though the next few weeks are going to be hectic, I hope that I have some time to really think about what Christmas is all about. It's not the gifts, or the food, or shopping, or even cleaning. It's about the spirit of giving and remembering the Saviors Birth. I too often forget what the meaning of Christmas is about, Maybe that is why I feel so stressed about Christmas. I hope that everyone has a great Christmas and that you take a little time to think about what it means to you.

Thanksgiving 2012

There are several different reasons as to why fall is my favorite season. I love when the leaves start to change different colors. There is something about the reds, oranges, and yellows that just make everything seem so warm. I also love fall because most of the country stops and really thinks about what they are grateful for. I too have thought about what I am grateful for.  Here is my List: 1. I am grateful to have the church in my life. 2. I am grateful for my amazing husband, who loves and supports me 3. I am grateful for my mother, who teaches me every day 4. I am grateful for my father, who loves me unconditional  5. I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law who are great examples 6. I am grateful for my two beautiful nieces who brighten my life 7. I am grateful for Gabe's family who always help us 8. I am grateful for my wonderful friends who are always there 9. I am grateful for my job 10. I am grateful for my education 11. I am grateful for my health 12. I am grateful for my little apartment 13. I am grateful for my car 14. I am grateful for my life

Looking over this list makes me realize that I really do have a lot of things that to be grateful. I am sure that there are many more. I have a lot in my life that others do not. I simply can't imagine my life without any of these things. For Thanksgiving this year, we will have a big family dinner with lots of amazing food and company.  For that too I am grateful.Not many individuals say that they can do that. Although, this is the time of year that we all start to think about and give thanks to the things that we do have, it should not be the only time. I know that we get carried away in the duties of everyday and don't really take the time to say thanks. But we should all take a little more time in our lives to be thankful for what we have.

My Birthday 10/12/12!!!

       Over the last few years, I have come across many individuals who don't like birthdays. They don't like getting older, they don't like celebrating, or maybe they just have never had a real birthday. For me, I enjoy every minute of my birthday. Sometimes, I enjoy the entire week of my birthday.  We all have our own ways of celebrating and mine happen to be a little extreme. My brother and I are exactly 8 years and 4 days apart. Growing up we always celebrated our birthdays together. Not many can say that they enjoy sharing their birthdays with another sibling. But for me, I was the youngest and I always got what I wanted. One year, my mother had told us that we were going to have one birthday cake for the both of us. Scott wanted a Batman cake, I wanted a barbie cake.  When the day of our party arrived and my mother brought out the barbie cake, Scott was not happy. Ever since then, Scott hates cake. I figure that my birthday is the one day out of the year that I get to celebrate me, and me alone. For that reason alone is why I love birthdays!
    This year was an awesome birthday as well. Since Scott's birthday is 4 days before mine we usually just celebrate it together with our parents and do our owns things on the actual birthday! This year we decided to go to the Brick Oven for the family dinner. It was amazing!!! I had never been there before and needless to say we will be going back. You can either choose between pizza or pasta. It is all you can eat. With the pasta it comes with all you can eat salad, soup, and bread. You can choose any type of pasta you want and they make it in front of you. And then you can put any sauce you want. It's amazing. My brother and sister in law got the pizza buffet. With that you also get all you can eat salad a soup. They have waiters come around to your table bringing slices of all sorts of pizza. It was so amazing. I think that might be where we go from now on for every birthday!
     Gabe knows how stressed out I have been the last few months, so for my present he gave me a spa day! It was amazing. The massage is just what i needed. I must have been really tense, because the therapists could not stop talking about how tight my back was and how many knots I had. She did an amazing job and if I had the money I could go every week. Since I have been on this diet, I have not had any junk food. I have been craving a hamburger like no other. So for lunch Gabe took me to get a hamburger. He is so sweet, massage and a hamburger what more can a girl ask for?  ha ha. Then we did a little shopping. I tried to find a new outfit. But I feel that I am at that awkward stage in my diet where the clothes I have now are way to big but the smaller size don't fit quite right. I guess eating that hamburger today did not help any. So of course the one thing that fits no matter how much weight you lose. SHOES!!!! I bought some really cute boots for the winter. Then for dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, because that is the other thing that I have been craving is cheesecake. Dinner was delicious and the Dulce DE Leche cheesecake was AMAZING!!! It was a great birthday. I am so lucky to have a great husband who spoils me rotten, and wonderful family and friends who also spoil me. Can't wait to see what this next year brings!!!!

Good Times!

Well since I have not written anything in awhile I figured that I would fill you all in on the things that have happened this month. Nothing too exciting we just live a semi-normal life. But here we go.
Gabe started his new job in the beginning of August. He absolutely loves it. Gabe  also started school the end of August. I guess he loves that too. He only has one more semester after this one and then he will be done. YAY!!! I can't wait. Gabe's family is planning on coming out to visit us the end of December and New Years and then we are all taking a big trip to San Diego.  I can't wait, it will be the first time that we have been on actual vacation with Gabe's family together.  I love his mom and brother so much and we miss them so much that this will be an awesome thing. Since Gabe lost his job earlier this year we have not been able to really have a vacation since we went to Brazil in December. It defiantly is needed. As far as me, same old same old. Still working, paying the bills, that's about it. Although, I have had a breakthrough. The closer Gabe gets to finishing school and us planning our future the more we have talked about having children. I of course want to be a mother more than anything in the world. I figured that I needed to lose weight and really lose weight. A co-worker of mine and good friend did the Jillian Micheal's Body Revolution diet and got great results. I figured that I would too. It is so hard for me to stick to a diet without an exact meal plan because if it were left up to me to choose I would pick the junk over healthy food. This 90 day program gives you exercise plan and meal plan for the entire 90 days. It is fantastic. Gabe is not much of a dieter and was not to keen on the idea. I do not want any risks with having a baby. I do not want to put myself nor my child in danger because of something that I could have changed! So, Gabe and I started. It has been about two weeks and we are already seeing awesome results. The first week was more of a jump start week. We were really restricted on what we could eat. No carbs, no fruit, no caffeine!!! It was so hard for me. Gabe and I were both addicted to caffeine and suddenly not having it I went through so much caffeine withdrawal. I feel like I had a migraine the entire week. It was hard and I wanted to give-up but I knew that this is something that I had to do for me and my future children. Guess what? I am doing it! The first week of the diet I lost 11 pounds and Gabe lost 10. We have not weighed ourselves in this week but I am sure we have lost even more. Yesterday I put on my capri's and they nearly fell right off.  I feel good, I get a little discouraged at times because although I can feel the results I am not so sure that I can see them yet. Everyone has told me that it takes awhile to start to notice. But I feel so much healthier and the best part is I don't really crave sweets. I will have moments when I wish I could have a brownie or a little chocolate but when I think about the bigger picture it really is not worth it. Things are going great here and Gabe and I are happy!

Blessings

I wrote awhile ago about trials and how our life seemed to be on a rough road. It still has been for some time. I would myself discouraged, and unhappy on the things that Gabe and I did not have. I have learned a lesson the last few months. I learned that Gods time is not our time. I know that this trial of ours may have only been a few months. To us seemed like it dragged on forever. In April Gabe had lost his job. We were devestaed. It was a very difficult time for us. I had my job but we did not think we could make it on that alone. At times it was difficult to look at others and not be envious of what they had. It was hard to feel like we were doing everything that we were supposed to and still be so discouraged.
Lucky for us Gabe and I have great people in our lives to give us encouragement and advice. It was those people that made things a lot easier. A few days ago Gabe received a new job. We could not be happier. Although we felt like it was forever without one, to Heavenly Father it really was not. I cannot express how grateful I am for the many blessings that I have received throughout my life.  I have an amazing husband who I am so proud of. It's such a blessing to have such a great man by my side. He lifts me when I am down, he cries when I cry. He smiles when I smile. For the last few months I have focused on the things they I did not have rather than the things I do have. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally. I have family who are there whenever I need them. And I have friends who care about me. Looking back on the last few months as much discouragement and sadness that I thought was in my life there was ten times more happiness that I did not focus on. I think about those that have a much harder life than I do. I am not sure how they make it without family, friends, and a great spouse. Yeah the first year of marriage has been challenging, but I think it's made us stronger. I love Gabe more today then I ever have. I know that when Heavenly Father sends us another trial, I know that we can get through it. It may be hard, it may seem like forever, but in the end the blessings you receive after are far better than your can imagine.

A New Decade!!!

Guess what??? Gabe turned the big 30 today. To be honest, he was not all that excited. I have been hearing about this day since he turned 29. " In 365 days I will no longer be in my twenties!" In 180 days I will no longer be in my twenties!" In less then 12 hours I will no longer be in my twenties!" This is a common phrase that has been going around our house  for the last 365 days by yours truly, Gabe.  I am not sure if it was the fact that he was reaching a new decade, or the realization that he is getting older that he was unsure about. Never the less, I tried to make his birthday as pleasant as it could be.
   I had a family dinner for him on Saturday. We held it at Golden Corral in Layton. It turned out wonderful and everyone had a great time. Thank you to everyone that came!

                                         My cousins Tim, Michele, Becky, Dean, Trace, Jeron, Brea

                                                      My cute little niece Juliet!!!

                                          Aunt Barbara, Cousins Tami, Zach, Brynlee, Jaxon

                                                      My handsome brother Scottie!!!

                                My other cute niece Noel and awesome sister-in-law Brooke!

                                                        Cousin Tayler and Kassie
I also thought that it would be a cute idea to make a candy bar poster. I found this cute little saying and my friend Tiffany helped me.

Gabe is not a huge cake fan so every year for his birthday we just make cupcakes. Last year lemon meringue. This year red velvet pecan with cream cheese frosting!!!

Today, I took Gabe to Village Inn for Breakfast. Then we drove up to Park City where we went to the World Market, Red Banjo Pizza for lunch, and the outlet malls to do a little shopping. Then we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Ruby Tuesday followed by watching a movie. I think that Gabe enjoyed the day and I think the fear of turning 30 is finally over. I can now live in peace for the next nine years until a new decade begins!

P.S. Two years ago today Gabe and I became an official couple. Time sure does fly by!

Simple Joys

I feel as though I am the most random person in the world. When I get an idea in my head I continue to think about it and think about it some more. For those that don't know this, I used to play the violin. I started playing in the fifth grade. When in the fifth grade it was a requirement that we all had to play the violin for music class. All the students learned a few songs and we played in a concert. At the time I did not think much about it and honestly it seemed worthless. I am sure that a group of ninety fifth graders that had only a few months experience of playing the violin did not sound very good. But we all did and once the concert was over so was my career of playing the violin. Or so I thought. Well when I entered middle school most of my good friends were in orchestra and I wanted to be too. Of course I had some experience in playing the violin so I thought I would give it a shot. I rented a violin from school and joined the orchestra. I thought it was fantastic. I practiced everyday, learned how to read music, and was involved in school. As the years went on I continued to play and watched several other kids in Orchestra advance a lot faster than I  did. I did not care I was having fun doing it.
    I would find that when I was sad, depressed, and or angry I would lock myself in my room, pull out my violin and practice. If I was sad I would play something slow and depressing. If I was angry I would play something fast and loud. I guess I never realized that playing the violin was my way of expressing my feelings. When I finally hit high school I realized that I had not progressed as much as I would have liked on the violin. So my mother got me into private lessons. I had a wonderful teacher who was very patient and understanding. If I were her I probably would have given up on me way before I even started. But she taught me how to be a better player. She encouraged me to get over my shyness and to play in front of people. I felt like I was doing really well. In high school we had an advanced orchestra and an intermediate orchestra. I was never good enough to get into the advanced orchestra and I was always stuck in intermediate. Finally in my senior year of high school I dropped out of orchestra. I was discouraged that I had worked so hard and never made it to advanced. I continued to do lessons and mostly just played for myself. When I moved down SLC to go school I had to quit lessons and I put my violin away. In the five years that I have lived here in SLC I think that I have only taken out my violin twice. Gabe and I have been together 2 years and he has never even seen it little lone heard me play.
     For the last few months I have randomly been thinking about my old dusty violin and wondering if I should start it up again. So today I did it. I got it out! The hair on my bow was coming out, the violin was dusty and it was badly out of tune. I quickly tuned it and got out the hymn book. I started to play I know that my Redeemer lives. I was still able to read the notes and remember where to place my fingers. I am sure I sounded like I was in the fifth grade again.  I am pretty sure that Gabe wanted to cover his ears and run away, and I am pretty sure that if I had played any longer than I had that the neighbors would have called the police. But when playing all the feelings of peace and comfort came back. I suddenly realized why I played the violin in the first place. It was the one thing that I was good at. It was the one thing that I could turn too when I needed to get away from what I was feeling. It was the one way that I could express how I felt. It is amazing to me how much music can affect your life. I may have never been the best violin player in the world, I may never be. I realized today that I did play the violin for me. Who knows I may pick it up again, or I may just save it for one of my children. But was a nice reminder that when life seems too hard and or difficult that music is what helps me get through it.

1 year!!!!!

We officially made it through our one year of marriage. Gabe and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday.  It is amazing to me how much time flies. It seems that we only just began dating and that we have not even begun to discuss marriage. It was such an amazing day! Gabe was so sweet and made breakfast for me french toast and turkey bacon. We did have to go get the oil changed in the car. That was not the best part of the day but it had to be done. After the oil, we went to the gateway! Decided to have lunch there and wait for the movie to start. After the movie we came home and got ready for dinner. Gabe had made reservations at the Melting Pot. We had never been there before was not sure to expect. It was fabulous! For those of you that have never been there The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant. We had the four course meal for the both of us. First we had cheese fondue, we chose to have Swiss cheese that they made right in front of us, then we had a salad, then came the meat fondue. They brought out raw  pieces of sirloin, steak, chicken, shrimp, pork. We placed the meat in the broth and cooked it ourselves. It was awesome! Then on came dessert, we had Turtle chocolate. Milk chocolate pecans, and Carmel, flambe in front of us. To dip in the chocolate we had strawberries, brownies, cheesecake, bananas, rice krispy treats, red velvet cake, and marshmallow's dipped in graham crackers and Oreo. Needless to say we were absolutely stuffed. It was amazing. We had a wonderful day and I am very grateful that I was able to share it with Gabe. Reflecting back on this last year, it was really hard but we made it. It made me realize that we can go through anything if we do it together and I am very lucky that Gabe is such an amazing person that puts up with me. I cannot wait to see what year two holds for us.

Diet

Alright folks here we go again!!!! I went to the doctor the other day for my yearly checkup. They took my temperature, oxygen level, and then the moment that I dread... The SCALE!!!! I know at the beginning of this year I wrote how I was going to do this diet and lose a thousand pounds and how I was determined and it was actually going to happen. I failed, I failed miserably. I was doing really well I had lost ten pounds and felt so good about myself. Then life happened and somehow that got in the middle of things. So here I am standing on that terrible scale watching for that  horrible number. With no surprise I had gained my ten pounds back. I was not happy. Well sitting in the patient  room waiting for the doctor to come in I noticed a little sign on the wall that read  "Ask me how U can get healthier." So when the doctor came in I did. She proceeded to tell me that there were many resources available to those that needed that extra little push. That is what I need. I need that little extra push. I feel like I can do it, I want to do it, but I need that something extra. There is a nutritionist that works at the clinic one day a week. She sits down with you once a month and makes a diet and exercise plan just for you. And the best part about it is it's free. You don't even have to pay a dime.
        So it is official, I am going to start this diet tomorrow. I feel like I have the determination, will power, and now I have that little bit of extra help. I know that I have  promised myself this many times. But I have to do this for me. This is the one thing that I can control in my life. This is the one thing that I think will make me feel better about myself. Let the dieting begin!!!



                                                                          

Trials!!!!

I now understand what people mean by the first year of marriage is one of the hardest. Gabe and I have been married for almost a year now. I have to say that more things have happened in this last year then in my entire life. When we got married I was so caught up in happiness, joy and love that I never thought about the future. With Gabe not being a citizen we faced legal trials. We had to fork out tons of money, tons of paperwork and tons of waiting. In the beginning I would find myself discouraged, depressed, sad and even tired. I knew at some point we would get through this. That somehow things were going to be alright. 6 long months later there was light at the end of the tunnel. We had made it together we had gotten passed the worst or so I thought. I began to feel relieved that Gabe was now a resident, that I no longer had to worry about the government taking him away from me. Our life then began to go down the smooth path. Suddenly we are back on the rough path. It's rocky, it's scary, it's depressing, and most of all it's hard. I know that somehow someway things are going to be alright. That we can make it together. For the time being the feelings of being depressed, discouraged, sad and even tired have all come back. I think that often times we as human beings have an image of what our life should be like. And when things don't turn out the way that you have visioned, we ask why???? I have asked myself this question for the last few weeks and I have yet to find the answer. I am not sure if we ever do find the answer to that question.  I have heard the saying a lot lately "God won't give you anything you can't handle." I know this situation is temporary, but sometimes I don't know if I can handle it.
       I am not sure how non-members of the church handle trials. I know that my faith, my prayers, and my understanding of Heavenly Father gives me comfort. There have been times in my life that my faith and prayers have not been the greatest. There are times when I am so discouraged that I have a tendency to forget about faith and prayer. When I stop to think about the entire world instead of just myself. There are several people out there that have trials ten times worse than Gabe and I. I am so so so grateful for my family. They are the greatest blessings that I have ever been given. I know that no matter where I am, no matter what I am doing they will always be there for me. I know that sometimes trial seem like an eternity but to Heavenly Father, they are just a moment in time and we can get through it.

My Valentine

Like all sixteen year old girls, I was immature, oblivious, and obnoxious about love. Sure I had an amazing time going on dates, going to dances, and spending my days day dreaming about the boy in history class. But in the back of my mind I always had this certain thought. This thought meant nothing to me in high school. By the time I was a senior I was way too involved in graduating, moving out of my parents house, and going to college that I never gave much thought to love. There were a few girls in my graduating class that were engaged by graduation and married by the end of the summer. Some of them even have 2 children by now, but not me. I went to school cheering because I was finally on my own. I was right where I wanted to be. Then I started going to the singles ward. Instead of going to church and learning about our Savior or reading the scriptures we learned about marriage. All everyone ever talked about was marriage. Would they make a great wife, would they have children, where would they live? Suddenly I felt that church was not only a place of worship but rather a place to find a husband. There was only two problems with this situation. One, I don't come to church to date, I come to church to get away from all of the worldly things and to grow closer to my Heavenly Father. Two, there was absolutely positively no one in my entire ward that I would have even considered dating. Needless to say the first few years of college were a little rough for me. Getting use to college, studying, working full time, and dating were all a little much for me. Something had to be put on hold and it certainly was not school or work so dating kinda went out the window. It was not until then that the thought that was in the back in my mind became more more important to me. It started to make me a little depressed, my self esteem went down, and I would find myself worrying more about this then anything else. The thought was that I was never going to get married. There was never going to be anyone out there that would love me for who I was. On several occasions during my younger years I made THE LIST!!! I believe that all girls know what THE LIST is. And for those that don't THE LIST is what girls make about all the attributes/ characteristics they want in their future husbands. I just thought that there was never going to be anyone that fulfilled my list.
    I never really had a valentine. I always seemed to break up with a boy right before or start dating one just after.  To be honest I kinda hated Valentine's. It was just another day to remind me that I was never going to get married, that no one was ever going to love me. It was also a day for the card and flower companies to get people's money. I always figured that if there was ever a man that loved me that he should show me he loved me every day and not because he was supposed to. At some point I came to "meltdown" or so I thought. All my friend's were getting married, and every where I looked I wanted what everybody else was having. A good friend of mine gave some great advice. " Dani, you are a beautiful, intelligent person. Anyone would be lucky to have, but are worrying about it too much. You need to focus on yourself, trust in the lord, and when it is time you will find the right person."
  A few years later, I did meet the right person. I did meet the person that loved me for me. I met someone that did fulfill my list.   I realize now that all the stress, worry, and depression that I went through was not worth it. I was doing all the right things that I was supposed to I should have known that the lord would have blessed me for it. I am still a little wiry about Valentine's Day. I still think that I should be loved everyday and not on one particular day. But I know that Gabe does love me everyday and when there is a knock at the door at 8 in the morning on Valentine's and the guy is holding flowers from Gabe I kinda like Valentine's!!!

Brazil Trip #1

   Gabe and I had the amazing experience of going to Brazil. My work would not allow for me to go before Christmas but we were able to go just after. I will admit that I was very scared. I had never been to Brazil and had no idea what to expect. Gabe's mother, step-dad, brother, and Grandma Lima were able to attend the wedding but nobody else was able to. Here I was going to this foreign country that I had never been to, did not speak the language, and was meeting new family members. It was all just a little overwhelming as one can imagine. Gabe continued to reassure me that everything was going to be just fine. He would protect me, translate everything, and his family was going to love me. In the meantime my mother was freaking out. Several years ago my mother read and watched a  story written by Danielle Steel, Not without my daughter. This was a true story about a woman that had married a man from Iran and had a daughter that lived here in America. They had decided to go visit his family in Iran for a few weeks. When arriving there her husband took their passports away and held his wife and daughter in captivity. The story is based on how this woman tries to escape from her husbands wrath. Her husband allows for her to leave but tells her that she must leave their daughter. It continues to tell of her struggle of not leaving without her daughter and her success in returning to the U.S. So of course my mother is afraid that somehow the same will happen to me and that I was going to get stuck in Brazil!
   My parents drove us to the airport the day after Christmas. After Gabe had reassured my mother time and time again that he would bring me back, she let us go. We boarded the plane and started our journey to New York. Once in New York, we had a bite to eat, stretched and prepared for our long flight ahead. The longest that I have been on a plane at one given time was 6 hours, and for me that was enough. We flew through the night and finally reached Sao Paulo. Unfortunately out trip did not end there. We had to board another plane and fly for another 2 hours before we reached Gabe's home town. In Sao Paulo we had to go through immigration and customs which was a complete night mere. We had a 3 hour lay over in Sao Paulo and it took us the entire time to get through customs. We boarded the plane once again and two hours later we had finally made it to Porto Alegre.

   We were greeted by Gabe's family, we went back to the house where lunch was provided for us. It was so nice to be there. It was really warm but had 70% humidity. We met Grandpa Neves who is 91. He is such a sweetheart. I fell in love with him the moment I saw. He reminded me a lot of my own Grandpa Maybury. We met Gabe's Uncle Fernando, Aunt Andrea, and their daughter Ana Clara who is 2 such a doll. We went to the beach, shopping, and ate tons of amazing food. The following week we went to this lil town called Germado. It is a cute lil town just 2 hours out of Gabe's hometown. There we were able to meet Aunt Marta, Uncle Mark ( who is from Germany), and their daughter Marina who is 8. The language was the most difficult part. I had no idea what the heck anyone was saying and at times I felt left out. Gabe kept his promise and translated what he could.

   It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun. The plane ride home seemed to take longer because I think that I just wanted to get home. It is a great thing to be home and to be back in my own home. Needless to say my mother was very grateful to Gabe for bringing me home and saving her a trip to Brazil to come get me. We are planning our next trip back soon and I have to learn Portuguese. 

                                                                        

Goals!!!

   January is one of my favorite months ever.  This is the time that I begin to look over the coming year and decide what I want to happen. For years, I have always had the same goals that I wanted to accomplish. Somehow by the middle of April all those goals have gone out the window. By the end of December I have accomplished nothing that I wanted to. This year I hope to be different. Let's be honest, I have never ever been classified into the skinny category. My weight has always been an issue for me. At times I have found myself sad, depressed, and in envy of all the beautiful skinny women in the world. Often times, I always thought that all men wanted skinny, petite, size zero girls. It was not until I met Gabe. He was the first man that loved me for me. I love him with all my heart and I know that he loves me, but I want to be able to love myself. I want to be able to look in the mirror and to be happy with what I see. I also want to be healthy, I want to be able to have children one day and to be able to see my grandchildren. I want to have more energy and not feel like a slug.

     My work has done something very fun this year. They have started The Biggest Loser. All those that have wanted to join pay 20 dollars to the pot. For 12 weeks we are all on a diet, exercising, and having weekly weigh ins. The winner at the end of the 12 weeks gets the money in the pot. So far we have gotten the pot up to $600 dollars. I am not doing this for the money, although it would be nice. I am doing this for me.  I need to be healthy, I want to fit into clothes and look good. But mostly I think that I want to feel happy about who I am. I will never be a size zero and that is ok. I just want to get to the point in life where I am happy to see what I see in the mirror and I want to feel better about myself.

   I am determined to do this. I have reached the breaking point in life that I have run out of excuses. So my goal for 2012 is to be healthy, to be happy, and to love myself. I know that when December 31st roles around I am not  going to be sitting around depressed about what I have not accomplished but rather happy at what I have accomplished.