I'm not ready for this!!

This is a really long post. Don't read unless you have time to dedicate to my crazy ramblings.

So I almost had a baby today. Yeah, I know, I'm freaking out a lot too. Let me tell you the whole story. Well, first, let me finish up my blog from yesterday. I know, it's really boring considering you are all wondering about that whole "I almost gave birth today" comment. But I want to finish it up. So here it is:

I only have cravings for $1 double cheeseburgers and fries from McDonald's. You can get a LARGE fries and a cheeseburger for $3.00. And there are LOTS of fries. And they'll make you happy. I went there TWICE Monday, and I was loving every minute of it.

Tuesday I had a huge craving for a large icy Orange Julius. I suggested my idea to Jamie and she 100% backed me up. She looked online and found out that there is one in the food court of the University Mall. And she even offered to go GET me one!! I couldn't do that to her. I'm making her do all the work at the office.

I'm sort of kidding about making her do all the work. I try to get her to do as much as possible so she has all the experience she can get before I leave in 3 days. THREE DAYS!!! Angels singing. Heavens opening shining their blessed light on me. I'm literally leaping for joy in anticipation of Friday afternoon at 5 pm.

What more can I say? It sill be surreal to wake up Monday morning and come to the realization that I don't have to see Jean's face ever again. I can't help but think that it will be all over in just a few short hours. I'm absolutely ready for the zills that will come after I leave. Pure and simple Zills.

And what, might you ask, are zills? Well the dictionary defines it thus: " n. One of a pair of round metal cymbals attached to the fingers and struck together for rhythm and percussion in belly dancing. Turkish, cymbals."

Well, in my family this word has a much different meaning. It all goes back to the game BALDERDASH. You know that game right? You take cryptic words from the English language and try to make definitions that will fake out the other people. If you fake them out, you get to move forward some spaces. My sister's husband's family plays this game a little differently. Instead of making up a "real" definition that tries to trick the other teams, you get points if you make up a ridiculous and hilarious definition that most entertains everyone.

So when the word ZILLS came up, Julie wrote down this definition: Zills: The good feeling you get after taking a really large and satisfying dump.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Everyone knows that feeling!! I'm glad it finally has a name. Well, in my family it has a name, anyway. Some people (like me) LIVE for that feeling after they've been backed up for a while. And the next time you come from the bathroom, I guarantee that you'll say to yourself "AHHH!! ZILLS" because you will be so happy there is a way to describe how you are feeling.

Also, I would like to admit that I'm eating weird things. Well, weird things for me, anyway. Like Jello with floating fruit. YES!! ME!!! JELLO with FLOATING FRUIT!!! I know, shocking. Also, I can't eat eggs and toast in the morning anymore. The bread is too much, it causes acid almost within 30 minutes of eating it. And then my day is ruined.

Well, that's basically all I wanted to say. I think that I might've added more stuff, (maybe some of it would've been funny. But probably not) But I wanted to talk about the baby stuff.

So, today was my checkup. I am 38 weeks and 4 days. I was lucky enough to get an appointment for 12 noon. I haven't had my "oil checked" since before I went to AZ on the 23rd of April, so I assumed they would do that. But that activity is quick, so I knew I would be back before my lunch break was over, and I would finish out my last 2.5 days of work with no worries. Well, that's not what Heavenly Father had in store for me.

I got to the appointment and the young girl takes my blood pressure. Now you have to know that I know how to take blood pressures. It's like the one cool thing you learn in Physiology. (which I took twice) So when this girl takes it, I'm pretty sure she's doing it incorrectly. I hate it when she does it, but I don't really have a say in the matter. Well, when she takes it today, it's like 139/91. (normal is 120/80)

I think she's full of crap. But what can I say? Granted, I do know what my other BP's have been, and I know that my BP has slowly been rising with every visit. So I sit and wait for the doctor. And I wait, and I wait. I'm getting nervous becuase I need to go home and let Raya out of her cage and I need to get something to eat!! I sit and read magazines until like 12:38 until the doctor finally comes in. Apparantly someone over at the hospital was about to give birth, and they couldn't find the doctor. So my Dr had to rush over in case he had to deliver. Luckily he didn't have to deliver because the other doctor was found

Well, the doctor measures me, listens to baby, and then I thought that he was going to make me drop my drawers so he could check my oil. No, he tells me that he wants me to rest on my left side and see if we can get my BP to go down. My what? Uhhh, ok.

But now I was worried, It was getting close to time that I needed to be back at work. Was Jean going to get mad (I'm sure she was going to be). Was I going to have to forget about Raya? Poor little girl, I couldn't do that to her! So I'm sitting there and freaking out and then the girl comes in to take my BP again. THE SAME FREAKING YOUNG GIRL!! I was like "ohhh great, this is going to be super menos efficaz"

Well, sure enough, it hasn't come down at all. So the doctor comes in and says, "I want you to go over to the Labor and Delivery department here at the hospital next door. I'm going to have them monitor your BP for a little bit." I, not knowing what this meant, was like "Right now?" Like I was thinking I could go after work or something. Dummy.

So I alert Jamie to the fact that I'm going to be a few minutes later than I thought. She lets me know that Jean has gone to a listing appointment, and that I should take my time. She's so nice!! She even tells me that I should take time to go home and let Raya out. So that makes me feel much more calm. So I head over to the other side. I walk there. Why not? It's not like I have some sort of dangerous medical condition going on, right?

Well, I get into the L&D area and after doing the pee thing, and finding out that I won't have to get naked, I get strapped into a couple of monitors. Apparantly they are also doing a non-stress test on my baby as well. She takes some blood and asks me some questions. All the while, the automatic BP machine is taking my vitals.

Well, it's not good. So I guess that young girl isn't an idiot after all. Apparantly I DO have a dangerous medical condition. Oh! As a side note, she does some "reflex" work and she notices that my feet are swollen. I told her that's not even the worst it can get. I see that she's typed on the computer, "Severe pitting edema 3+." She later told me that that means that it takes more than 3 seconds for the flesh to bounce back after she pushes it in. She knows that it can get BIGGER than that, but 3+ is the worst kind of edema they document. AND I'VE GOT IT!! WHOO HOOO

So I'm sitting there worrying about Raya, getting back to work, people getting mad at me and finally what will happen if my BP doesn't go down. The nurse tells me that if it doesn't go down, they will induce me. They'll start with a little "vagi-cream" that will soften my cervix and hopefully open it up. (By the way, no one knows how OPEN I am. My oil STILL hasn't been checked!")

TODAY!?!?! I MIGHT HAVE A BABY TODAY? I don't even have a car seat. My crib isn't set up. I don't have any newborn diapers. I still need to go buy a box of wipes at Costco. I'm going out of my freaking mind. I don't have a camera, I don't have a bag ready with a change of clothes. I haven't trimmed my hair "down there." I don't have anything ready. I need some sort of record of what's going on (other than this blog, that is) to show people in the future. I don't have anything to record these "precious moments" of pure insanity.

So if those other things weren't enough to freak me out, the idea that I might have a baby today, DEFINITELY did the job. My poor BP just kept going up higher and higher. I'm on the phone with my brother, trying to get him to go over and let Raya go pee. I'm telling Marcelo we might have a baby today, but I don't want him to quit work too early in case there is nothing really going to happen. Jamie realizes that I'm probably not coming back today, so she has a few questions for me to try to get things under control there. The phone kept ringing or sending me text messages, and it was almost too much.

I'm telling you the BP was off the charts. The Dr came in and took my phone away because he was smart enough to realize that all my communication was making me nervous and raising it up higher. He wanted to see at least 1 hour of "regular" BP before he would let me go. It was hard to get that!! I would get a couple of good readings, and then it would spike again. And I would have to start all over again.

Well, finally, after 4 hours of sitting there and finally getting my BP down, they told me I could go home. BUUUUUT, I would be put on STRICT bed rest. This means no cleaning, no grocery shopping, no laundry, no WORK and the worst: NO DRIVING! I was given authorization to go pee and to bathe myself. But after that I needed to be laying down resting. I'm going to be so bored the next few days. I mean, with Marcelo at work, how will I get the Oreo shake I'm so desperately craving at all hours?

I was very happy to learn that I would not have to go back to work. It just seems more fitting that I get out on MY terms. It seems that Heavenly Father knows what I need, and he was giving me this one last gift. So I'm officially free. I'M FREEEEEEEEE. SEE YA LATER SUMMIT!! Try to forget I ever existed.

So when they let me go, I was STARVING. I hadn't eaten anything since this morning at 8 am, and I wanted to die. Marcelo didn't want to make anything, but I don't think he wanted to buy food either. So I told him, "hey, I HAVE to eat. I HAVE TO EAT NOW. Either you go get us something, or I'm breaking doctors orders to go get myself some food." He finally got the food, after I suggested the food he really wanted. (Macaroni Grill)

Moving on: I think I might have the baby on Friday. I mean, I'm like nearly ready. And there is no reason to keep me on bed rest, the baby is fully formed. So when I go in to have another BP and non stress test on Friday, they might just say "screw it, let's get this thing going" and I would be totally ok with that. I wasn't ready today. It really was freaking me out. But with it coming on Friday, I have a few days of preparation to do. I'm going in first thing in the morning on Friday. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you up to date.

Finally, guess what they gave me today as I left? Well, they want me to do a 24 hour urine collection. They gave me a little bowl shown here, and a little OJ juice container shown here. (Notice that Raya wouldn't get out of the frame. She's got to be in there, all the time.) Well, I get to pee in the bowl every day and pour it INTO the OJ bottle and then KEEP IT IN THE FRIDGE!!! I think I'm going to have to throw away my fridge after this. Thank heavens we are moving. I'll be sure to leave out the fact that I kept my urine in the fridge to the new tenants.

I guess they are testing for toxemia or something else. I'll let you know how the OJ collection and non stress test goes. I could be a mother in 36 hours or less!! HOLY CRAP!!

Scary Dreams

WARNING!! THIS BLOG TALKS ABOUT BOOBS. A LOT. DON'T READ THIS BLOG IF BOOB TALK AND BREASTFEEDING DREAMS MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE. WARNING OVER!!

I've been having scary dreams lately. Last night was the worst. I dreamed that I had my baby (even in my dream I don't know if it's a boy or a girl. It's just a BABY) and that I tried to breastfeed it, but I couldn't. Not like the milk wouldn't come, but I was just a moron and could get my breasts to work. Almost like they were high tech mechanical instruments and I hadn't read the instruction manual so that's why I couldn't do anything

Honestly, it was so upsetting. It was almost like in my dream I was a 15 year old kid who was fumbling around and didn't even know what to do to actually BRING my child up to my boob. I thought that if I just waited for a little while the milk would come shooting out right of my boob into the baby's mouth like a water pistol. So I just kept waiting and waiting for the baby to "magically" be fed. But then in the dream I finally figured it out and got it in the kid's mouth. But then the baby immediately fell asleep. I was panicked because I had only fed the kid on the left side, and only for about 3 seconds.

So I switched it over to the right side, and when I pulled out the boob, my nipple was missing!!! My right nipple was not there. I'm sure this is just un-conscious (or conscious for that matter) worry because my right nipple is noticeably flatter than my left and I worry about not being able to feed on that side. I worry about the baby not being able to latch onto that side, and me being so frustrated so I just feed it mostly on the left and my left boob shrinks while my right grows bigger and bigger until it eventually bursts.

Ok, maybe I don't really worry that my boob will burst. But I DO really worry about the latching on and the physical properties/capabilities of the right boob. And that worry was CLEARLY in my dream.

So what happened at the end? I don't know. Dreams are like that. One moment you are freaking because your nipple is gone, and the next moment you are awake and thinking about what you will eat for breakfast. All I know is that my dreams are telling me that I am NOT READY TO BE A MOTHER. PLEASE DON'T COME BABY!!! I'M GOING TO SUCK AT TAKING CARE OF YOU!!

Speaking of not knowing how to taking care of babies, something funny happened today with Marcelo. Today I showed him the ONE newborn diaper we have. It was included in a "Congratulations You Got Knocked Up!" box of goodies from Babies 'R' Us. You can tell that it's a newborn diaper because it has the notch for the belly button. I explained to Marcelo that we'll need at least one bag of those suckers because we don't want to irritate the little umbligo stump. (Sorry, umbligo is Spanish for belly button and we were using it during the whole conversation)

Anyway, I was explaining to him that the stump turns black and eventually falls off. YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN HIS FACE! He looked like he had just stepped in a pile of dog poop. He was like "It turns rotten, right? Does it smell?" I told him that it does NOT smell, and it doesn't "turn rotten" but that it just turns black and then falls off by itself. He was still grossed out and he got up to "walk off " the thought of a piece of our baby turning black and falling off. I laughed and called out behind him, "ohhh, boy!! you have so much to look forward to!!"

He really does. Just wait till we have a boy and he figures out that if they do a circumcision (Like Marcelo thinks he wants his boys to have) then they'll have to CUT THE BABY'S PENIS!! I think he already figures that, but he really hasn't thought about the mechanics of the actual procedure. If we DO have a boy, and we DO decide to get him circumcised, I bet ANYONE $35 that he can't be there to see it happen. What a wuss.

I'm counting on friends to get me through labor and delivery. Marcelo will be the pansy passed out on the couch sleeping it off till it's over.

Happy Mother's Day Marcelo!!

She's Having a Baby!!

Can you believe that my due date is 2 weeks away? Exactly 2 weeks away people!! I really REALLY didn't feel very prepared until today. For some reason, my shower wasn't very fruitful. I mean, I love the stuff I got, and I appreciate everything I was given, but not to many people came. So I really didn't get even the BASIC things that I needed.

I looked on Holly's registry (Holly is my VT companion) and I saw that she got like EVERYTHING she registered for. I was going to get her something, but she's got everything already!! (I'll just end up getting her a gift card, and let her get the stuff she needs but didn't KNOW she needed before the baby came). Anyway, I was just so shocked that she got so much off her registry. I got maybe TWO things and so I just figured that's they way things roll with registries here in Utah.

Well, so as you all know, I'm just so freaking worried about my house selling. I won't go into the nighttime sleep teeth grinding (yes, it's happening every night. I wake up with my teeth noticeably sore) or the bloody noses from the stress. Anyway, because, I know that many of you know that I'm just not really into baby time.

Not that I'm not SUPER excited about the baby, but I just feel like it can't come until the home sells. But this baby is coming weather I'm ready for it or not. And today, I'm a little more ready for it. Andy why is that? Because I have a TOTALLY amazing friend named Reagan.

I'm not kidding when I say that Reagan has given me about 1 million dollars of free stuff. We are talking a crib, stroller, Boppy, swing, TWO baby carriers, books, clothes. . . Should I go on? Seriously, hundreds and hundreds of dollars of stuff. And most of it she just GAVE to me!! Like she's planning on never having a kid again, or something!

The other reason that I'm feeling a little more calm today is because we went to Target and got all the stuff that I didn't get from my shower. Who knew that $100 of stuff would bring me such a calm mind? If I had known that, I would've done this weeks ago!!

Anyway, so some people are wondering how the pregnancy is coming and how I'm feeling. I'm doing well. The baby is kicking REALLY hard these days. Sometimes in the same place for a long time. I actually thought they were contractions until I talked to Reagan and my doctor and they both said the TIGHTNESS would be all over, not just on one side.

So on Monday, I'm going to the doctor for my next to last visit (before my due date, that is) and he'll check me again DOWN THERE. I think now is the time to get a bikini wax if I ever were to get one. But we don't have the money to do it, and I'm too lazy to call around and find the cheapest place to do it. But he'll check me and I'll let you know how it's all coming along.

Wanna know something sad? I REALLY wanted this post to be interesting, and like a baby update and info about that. But it's just boring!! I'm boring myself as I type it! LAAAAME!! I think it's because I don't really have any baby info to report. Not dilated, not effaced, no contractions, no nothing. I wish I had something more interesting to report on the baby scene.

As far as work news goes, I am VERY excited to realize that I only have 1 week (5 work days) to go!! I wonder if they will go slow or fast. I thought this last week would go slowly, but it actually went fast. I think that it's going fast because of the house thing (not to beat a dead horse). So every day it doesn't sell, makes me more nervous and more nervous for the next day to end without an offer. But I only have 5 days to go until I'm free. Poor Jamie, she's trapped. (just like they want it)

And finally, Lynn forwarded this to me. I laughed and immediately thought of Judd. So this is for her. Oh, and I'm going to share one of Judd's "dirty little secrets": SHE'S OBSESSED WITH THE SHOW GOLDEN GIRLS. Loves it forever, and will always love it. Has the whole series on DVD. We are talking serious devotion for a show that went of the air when she was 12 years old.

The day after she got home from her mission, I called her to chat and I said, "how are you, are you still freaked out about being home and it all being so weird?" and she said, "oh my gosh, Bing, it was heaven. Sleeping in my own bed, watching Golden Girls until I fell asleep and then not having to wear shoes in the shower the next morning"

See how cool she is? The first thing that she does when she gets home is catch an episode of GG's. I guess as far as secrets go, liking a wholesome show like Golden Girls isn't as dirty and tawdry as others. Sorry I told your secret, Judd!! I love you! And so does Betty White. Rose loves everyone. Except those who give her S**T. OHHHH!! What if I named my baby girl Rose? That would rock.

The Watch Story and a Lesson in Making out

That wedding blog got so many comments!! I should've done it a long time ago!! But I think the reason that it got so many is because all the people who read and comment on my blog were IN those pictures. Do you notice how Reagan didn't and wasn't in the pictures? She was actually going to be bridesmaid #9, but she couldn't make it. She had a family/personal emergency. Ok, wanna know the truth? She heard that Judd was going to be there and she didn't want to see her I'M KIDDING!!!! She didn't even know Judd back then Anyway Judd is right. I don't know if you all read her comments on my wedding blog. But here's what she said:

"I came back to your page to admire your beautifulness again when i remembered something else (with Frankie's help). you wore your plastic blue and black ecua watch to your sealing! for those of you who missed this tiny detail, check out Ali'sannouncement picture. it appears there, too! that is one important and celestial watch. do you think it is sealed to you both? like, it was worn under the covenant? not trying to be sacreligious here, but that was phenomenal"

So here is the story of the watch. While in the MTC I needed a watch. Well, seeing is how there are about a million boys and only a few sisters, you can imagine the type of selection they had there. I opted for this blue/silver monstrosity that was digital and also had a stop watch!! The wrist strap was made of the most synthetic rubber/plastic you can imagine, and the thing beeped when you set the alarm. Let me tell you, this was the best option available. Plus, it was like a "throw away" watch. I planned on using it up and then throwing it out. (I say this even as I KNOW that I wore it in my wedding)

Anyway, because I wore it everyday, the wrist strap (which was that hard plastic) eventually broke. It was time to get another one. Well, that wasn't as easy as it sounds because of the engineering of the straps. I eventually found one, courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger. That's right, the old TH band was the only one that fit. It was blue band with a white and red square on each side. You know, the Hilfiger trademark. Anyway, that one lasted till the end of my mission.

When I went back to Ecuador the first time I noticed that the band was falling apart, so I got another one while I was down there. Apparently I ONLY get watch bands in Ecuador. And Judd is right: I DID wear it in my engagement photos. And I wore it in the Temple to get married. Here's the thing: Lee got me sleeping and bathing in my watch. (Lee is Hermana Lee, my last companion). But she totally got me doing it. So on the day of my wedding I did everything like normal: shower, dry hair, get married. I just forgot to take off the watch.

And here's the thing, I had a REALLY pretty silver Fossil watch to wear on my wedding day. But in all the marriage wedding fiasco, I totally forgot all about it. And I wore it in the sealing, and then walked out to take pictures with it. So in the first roll and a half of my pictures, it is all there. Here it is in the group photo. (Click on the photo and it will open in it's own page and you can see the watch on my wrist.) But below, I've done a blown up shot of it so you can really get all of it's glory:


See how yucky it is? AND I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!! I was just going about my day, merrily taking "kissy" pictures with my husband (as Beth puts it) and worrying about if my bra strap was hanging out my dress.

Anyway, Wanna know who alerted me to the watch? You guessed it!! Judd. Here we are talking to each other, and you can see the watch JUST as the side of the picture cuts off. Well, maybe you can't see it very well But it's there on my wrist. And I think it was RIGHT AFTER this conversation that she was like "WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!!?? Take that nasty thing off!! I can't believe you wore that in the temple to get married."

And I think she took it. All I know is that in the rest of the pictures, it's not there. See, look! No watch on the left wrist.

Well, here's the very suspicious thing. I "mysteriously" lost that watch after my wedding. I can't remember seeing it after that day. I think that Judd took it and threw it away. AND YOU SHOULD ALL THANK HER FOR IT! That watch was NASTY and smelled like Ecua-cheese. If you don't know how bad that is, believe me, you don't want to know.

Anyway, enough talk about my watch. Let's move on to another question that everyone asked me. You all want to know how I was able to make out with Marcelo on a buss that his parents were also riding. Those who have served missions in South America and SPECIFICALLY in Ecuador will know that the "long distance" buses look like Greyhound buses. They have rows and rows of high backed seats. So if your in-laws get on the bus and sit on the third row on the left, and you and your soon to be fiance get on the bus and sit on the 6th row, ALSO on the left, there is no way for them to see you.

And if you happen to have arrived on an airplane at 3 in the afternoon, and then got on your FIRST bus at 5 or so, you only have 1 more hour of light that you have to wait out until you get to make out in darkness. The sun sets at 6 pm in Ecuador (it being the EQUATOR AND ALL) and so you get to learn how to kiss in darkness, in a public place yes, but also in darkness while everyone else is asleep.

I must say, Marcelo and I didn't do ANYTHING except make out for 3 weeks solid. We took naps together and made out. Now before everyone starts to JUDGE me for "sleeping" with Marcelo, I need you all to look at this little map I've created that does a pretty good job of showing the layout of their home. Please note the home is not 100% accurate to scale, but it does a pretty good job showing how things were laid out. Take a look:
Again, click on the picture and it will open up bigger. Well, as you might have guessed, I slept in Lety's room. As you can see, that room is only accessible through the boys' room. They gave me that room becuase it was the only one that had a door on it. But when Mar and I would take naps, we would never sleep there. We would only sleep in the boy's room on the double bed that was visible from the doorway as everyone walks by.

So if we wanted to do anything, we needed to remember that it was going to be visible to everyone passing by. If the thought of your father in law (who is the Stake president) walking by at any moment isn't enough to scare the randy-ness right out of you, I don't know what is. So yes, I did make out the whole time I was there, but it had to be "chaste" making out because it was very public.

Oh, and the square by the back door is their "indoor" laundry. Also known as "big cement block where you hand wash your clothes." Ahh, I love the cement block. I'm sorry, but your clothes just get SOOO much cleaner being beaten against a cement slab. Am I right ladies? You know I am.

And finally, I would like to wish a happy birthday to my little Marcelino. He's 28 years old today. But he's still just like a little kid too!! Like for example, as I type, he's watching the finale of Disney's live action 102 Dalmatians and giggling like a little boy. He thinks that kind of humor is HILARIOUS.. I think I like the fact that he's still young at heart. And he gets joy out of the simple things So baby, this one's for you!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today I Marry My Best Friend. . .

Remember when that phrase was all the rage on wedding invitations? Ugh!! So trite and generic. The next time you see me, ask me to do my impression of that phrase. It makes me laugh and I almost can't get through the whole phrase because I'm trying to suppress the giggles.

Anyway, today was a hard day. Not because of work, but because of home selling stresses. Marcelo is FINALLY at the point that he is willing to let the price go low, but maybe we've lost all our buyers? It's REALLY stressing me out. I can't sleep most nights. And then I have to wake up and deal with work and hear Jean make racist comments about Marcelo and how he choose the wrong tile color because he's MEXICAN. No joke, she said that, and then quickly corrected herself to say "hispanic."

Do you know what the word hispanic is? It's the latino version of the word "negro." Like how old racist people know that they shouldn't say the "N" word (because that word is generally "frowned upon" in good society), and they replace it with the more PC term "Negro" but it's JUST as offensive and racist. Jean is that racist person. Anyway, I have to deal with that crap all the time, AND I have to do it on very little sleep. Today was one of those days.

So we are really REALLY ready to let our incredible house go for a GREAT deal. If anyone knows someone that wants to buy a home for $30,000 under market value, please let me know.

So like I promised, I am doing a post about my wedding day. Beth calls these "Meme's". How do you pronouce that? Like "Mee-mee?" or like "Meh-Meh"? Please enlighten me(me). But here it is with the FOUND pictures.

1. What date is your anniversary?
August 14th, 2004. That's a nice date because you hit your 6-month anniversary on Valentine's Day!! Not like we DO anything for Valentine's Day, but if we WANTED to, it would be our half anniversary.


2.Where did you get married?
San Diego Temple. People always ask if I'm from there, but I'm not. I wanted to get married there because it was the first temple I got to see the INSIDE of. When I was 13 the temple was complete and dedicated and we went to the open house. I remember putting on the white booties (to protect the carpet) and then walking inside. The room that most stuck in my mind at that young age was this one with a VERY large staircase in a very pretty room with a HUGE chandelier in the middle of the ceiling.

It won't surprise you to know that that's the Celestial Room. And so when I was married, I got to trip up that staircase with my huge dress on and sit just looking at that chandelier. Very pretty, very quiet. Perfect. Also I was currently living in Utah, my best friend and brother lived in AZ and my mom and the rest of my family were in Northern CA. It was about the same distance for everyone to come to San Deigo. So it just seemed fair to make everyone travel the same amount.

Anyway, it was fairly a horrible trip for everyone who came. They ALL had to come a long way. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TRAVELED SO FAR TO SEE ME MARRY THE LATINO GUY!!

3. Who proposed and how?
This is a ridiculously embarrassing story. So Marcelo and I had talked about this a few times. I was pretty sure that we would be engaged when I came back from Ecuador in May. I considered myself "engaged" for a long time. (I won't tell you how long I considered that. Let's just say it was LOOOONG before I had ever kissed Marcelo) But I considered myself asi even though we really didn't have a complete understanding about everything.

Well, I went back to Ecuador and walked off the plane and Marcelo was nowhere to be found!! I sat down on a bench outside the airport and waited. And waited. And waited. And then far FAR away I see a Marcelo shaped image a long way off walking into the "Departures" wing of the Quito Airport. I hike it over there and back into the airport, and sure enough, there he is, standing around, waiting for me to do all the work. HAR HAR

Anyway, I'm incredibly nervous because, BECAUSE he's decided to bring his PARENTS!! That's right!! It's been 1 year and 2 months since I've seen his face, and he brings his parents 8 hours on a bus to make me feel crazy anxious.

That's right, 8 hours. After having been on a plane for like 4 hours, I get to get on a bus at the Terminal Terrestre in Quito, then on another bus in Santo Domingo, and then a cab to their little suburb from the main part of Quevedo. I was VERY tired already, and then I had that huge trip to deal with. And I was flooded with all these Marcelo feelings. And I was nervous because I had never kissed a boy before. And I was trying to deal with all these things at once. I'm surprised my head didn't explode.

Anyway, we get on a bus, and settle in for a long LONG ride. Where we are making out the ENTIRE TIME. You are probably wondering how we did that with his parents nearby. Not easily, that's for dang sure! But I had been wanting to kiss him for well over a year, and we only had 3 weeks before I had to get on another plane!! We had lost time to make up for! Anyway, after nearly 4 hours of non-stop making out, Marcelo comes up for air and says, "oh I forgot. I have something to ask you." I thought that he forgot to tell me something about the upcoming stake conference, or about maybe traveling to Manabi to visit his family.

But no, he says, "I forgot to ask you: do you want to marry me?" UGGGH!!! I was TOTALLY pissed off!! I told him, "You know what? Forever after this everyone will ask me how you asked me to marry you, and I'll either have to LIE or tell them that you asked me while we were making out. You suck." (By the way, I said that all in Spanish. And I called him a few other choice words too). And I was officially engaged. Bastard.

4. How long were you engaged?
TOO LONG!! A year and a half. Waiting for his Visa to be accepted we just had to wait and wait and wait. I only got to see him once again after we got engaged. And then he arrived in the country and 2 weeks later we were married!!

5. What was the favorite part of your wedding day? (besides who you were marrying, hopefully)
Getting to see Judd, Lee and all my old roommates. And listening to the sealer say great things to us. What were those great things? I have NO idea. I'm sure they were nice and inspiring, but I didn't hear a thing. I was busy translating for Marcelo and feeling anxious that everyone was looking at me all the time.



And I know Beth and Amy were probably too "cultured" to say this, but I'm going to come right out and say it. It was awesome being able to make out with my husband and KEEP GOING without guilt. I know chastity is great and all, but it's REALLY DIFFICULT to stop when you are seriously in love and going to be married in 2 weeks. So I would have to say waiting till your married and then being able to "go all the way" (to use a cheesy 7th grade phrase) without guilt is the best part of ANYONE'S wedding day. Am I right? You know I am!

6. What would you change if you could?
Just a few things, and they were some of the same things that Amy said she would've changed. I would've rented my dress instead of buying. I have this huge wedding dress hanging in my closet that I keep having to move from one place to another. I want to give it to someone else who really wants it and loves it, but I don't know when that will happen. So I just keep it around to use as my weight barometer. I'll be REALLY happy when I can once again fit into that dress.

Second:My engagement pictures. I always SWORE that I wouldn't have my ring visible and I wouldn't have that "one" pose where one person's hands are wrapped around the other. AND IT HAS BOTH!!! Now that I look in my book of engagement photos, there are so many others that I would've chosen. There is this one where Marcelo looks SOO cute, but it's too fuzzy, so that's why we didn't use it. Now I wish that we had. He looks freaking adorable, and I look pretty cute myself.

Third, I would've hung out with Judd and my friends more. That was the last time I got to see Lee, and it was the last time I got to see Judd for a REALLY long time. I feel like I neglected everyone that was there to see me. I feel badly when I look back on it.

Oh, and I would've made sure that my bouquet didn't have a fake gold handle. That was tacky.
But I didn't have a say in the matter. We ordered
the bouquet from some random place, but when we got there to pick it up, it was like a little hut on the side of the road. NO JOKE. I didn't know that I had to say, "no fake gold" to the florist. I was wrong.

7.Wedding colors?
Red and Green baby. Northern California girl all the way. I actually wanted it to be more green than red in the pictures, but I found these great shirts at Banana Republic for crazy cheap. They were the right color and so I bought them for all my bridesmaids. With the black skirts, they just make everything look so CLASSY. I really REALLY lucked out on these shirts.

8.Do you remember anything special from your ceremony? Any good advice? A comical moment?
Like I said previously, I hardly remember anything the sealer said at my wedding. I do remember several things from Judd's wedding. And I will share them here. The Sealer told her and Parmenter to look around the room, and look at all the love and support they had around them. He gave them about 3o seconds to do this. And when he spoke again he said, "Someone over my shoulder got a wink from the bride." And Judd, without missing a beat, says, "Old boyfriend." IN HER SEALING!! LOVE LOVE LOVE HER!

I immediately started crying because I knew that I would not get anymore lessons on quickness and wit from my Judd. Her husband would get all those great comments. She was no longer my best friend, she was now Frank's wife. Bastard Frank, taking away my Judd.

Also the sealer told her and Parmenter that they had all of eternity to look at each other, but he needed them to look at him right now. I bet he said this so that he knew that they were listening to him as he talked. So when I was being sealed, I didn't want to be embarrassed and told the same thing, so I didn't even try to look at Marcelo. Like didn't even try. Later my sister in law Tina told me that was weird, and that he was trying to look at me the whole time. I think that also goes under "what I would change" category. I would definitely look at my husband more on our wedding day while we were being sealed.

And finally, when we were ready to walk out, they didn't send us out the main door where all our family and friends were waiting. They pushed us out this little side door. (This is the first picture the photographer took of us after she found us.) However, our photographer was crazy professional and somehow knew that this would happen. She walked right up to me and was like "Are you Alicia?". Yep, she found us first and had taken a half a roll of film before we were joined by other members of our family. What's up with that? Why did we get the shove out the side door? Was someone more important coming through the front door? Very strange indeed.

9.Were you clean or messy when you cut your wedding cake?
Clean. My mom's good friend said to Marcelo at our reception, "Now, don't you even think about shoving cake in her face." And my dear sweet South American husband said, "why would I do that?" HA! I'm telling you, I love having a husband that doesn't know what's expected of him sometimes. It really makes him easier to "mold" sometimes.

No cake pictures here to show you. I don't have a SINGLE picture from my reception. The "photographer" (AKA, local girl from ward) didn't put a battery in the camera. Every picture came out gray. MENOS EFFICAZ!

10.Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We spent our wedding night in a hotel right across the street from Sea World. The next day (Sunday) we went to Anaheim and then Monday we went to Disneyland. Then ALL DAY TUESDAY we traveled up to my family's cabin. We only had that one night to ourselves because on Wed everyone started arriving for the family reunion. We got kicked out of the cabin and moved a mile down the road to a campsite. I was quite bitter about that. No one else has a family reunion planned right in the middle of their honeymoon. Does one day in Disneyland count as a honeymoon? LAME!!

Anyway, Marcelo did NOT like Disneyland as much as I thought he would. When we saw where our hotel was right by Sea World, I thought we should've gone there. I was right. However, it was too late, so nothing could be done about that. Marcelo didn't like Disneyland because he didn't like the scary rides. I had to trick him to go on a few of them. I am evil.

11.How long have you been married now?
Three years and 9 months. It really goes by fast. I bet it will go by even faster with a baby. But I guess everything is fast when you are with your best friend. . . .BLECH!!!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this. I'm going to bed now. It's 2 in the morning. But I had to finish this blog. I start to get death threats when people expect a blog from me and they don't get it. SO DEMANDING!!!

Only 8 more days to go till the job is over!! WHOO HOO!!!

Talented

I have many talents. Sometimes I get down on myself and I have a pity party with myself and I feel sorry for myself. But other times, I'm very proud of my life accomplishments and the things I've done in my 27 years. Here are some of my talents:

* I'm a good friend. I'm crazy loyal to those that I love. I would happily give my true friends one my kidneys or even one of my bladders!!
* I'm pretty dang funny sometimes. Often I think that I'm a lot funnier than I really am. But everyone once in a while someone will throw me a bone and laugh at one of my jokes. And then sometimes I'll say something that I only think is moderately funny, and it will make another person howl with laughter until tears come out of their eyes. Go figure!
* I think I'm a good listener. When I'm not distracted that is. Like right now, I'm updating my blog, and Marcelo is watching a MLS game and he keeps trying to ask me questions. I'm CLEARLY not paying attention, and I keep having to ask him to repeat his question. He gets frustrated by that. But I make no promise of attentiveness when I'm CLEARLY preoccupied with things like blogging, or reading or watching TV. Why hasn't he learned this after nearly 4 years? Crazy Latino guy!
And finally, the subject of this blog:
* I'm a FINDER. I cannot REST until I find something that I've lost. Sometimes, if it takes days to find that item, I will have dreams about finding it, and I'll wake up happy until I realize that it was only a dream and then I'll start searching again. I search the same places over and over again, even if I've already looked there and I KNOW they aren't there.

So what did I loose? I lost the CD with ALL my wedding pictures. I had it at the office because I was mailing something from there like more than a year ago, and for some reason, I never took it home. But I finally did a few months ago. So today, I was reading Amy's Blog (I would put a link to it here, but she's one of those "Elitist" bloggers that makes hers invite only. YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON SOME GOOD COMMENTS AMY!! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!! I kid) So on Amy's blog she had posted one of those question and answer posts that she had seen on Beths' blog. (Link here)

Anyway, I decide it might be a fun blog post and so I decide to get my picture CD so I have pictures to put on the blog. I go to our "junk drawer" in our kitchen and look for where I'm SURE I've put it after bringing it home from the office. It's not there. I clean out the drawer, look under everything, still not there. Panic sets in. I know KNOW KNOW that I've brought it home from the office. However, I know that there is nothing written on the CD cover or even on the CD!! What if Marcelo in his cleaning haste has thrown it away because he doesn't know what it is?

Then my mind starts to think, "if I had it in my possession right now, where WOULD I put it?" and then I go look in those places. I did that. And I look in those places 2 or three times. And then I started looking in weird places. I won't tell you all the places I looked, but let's just say my kitchen cabinet with the drinking glasses was covered. Like I said, I get CRAZY when I can't find something.

Krista, Melanie and Carolina will remember the time I HAD to find Carolina's keys that she had accidentally thrown in the dumpster at our place down in Provo. I was in that dumpster for almost 45 minutes looking through people's trash. Carolina actually told me SEVERAL times to give it up, because she didn't want me to catch the clap from the dumpster. But like I said, I'M A FINDER!! I FIND THINGS!!! I wouldn't let it go until I had found them. I knew that they were in there, and I wasn't going to rest until I opened every bag if necessary. (It wasn't' necessary, thank heavens)

Another something that helps me is re-tracing my steps. I also did that this time and said, "Ok, I know it left the office. I know it was in my purse in my car. Did I bring it inside?" When I couldn't answer that question with 100% certainty, I knew that the car was the next place I wanted to look. Luckily we were going to church right then (Yes, we were late for church because I HAD to look for the CD) so I got in the passenger's side of my car so I could look around.

You might have guessed from the light tone of this blog that I did in fact find it. It was in the pocket behind the driver's seat. It was so satisfying to find it. It's like lost and found ZILLS. (if you don't know what Zills is, I'll have to write a blog about it. For now, just know it's a very satisfying feeling deep down in your belly)

But after blogging about my talents as a FINDER, I am FINDING that I don't have time to do that wedding blog post that started this whole thing. I'll do it tomorrow.

Your happy finder here wishes you well this evening!!

I'm back! Let the rejoicing begin!

I know that many of you don't really give a crap that I was out of town for a week. But I know that some of you DO!! And that makes me SOOOO happy. And loved. Know what else made me feel loved when I was gone? Marcelo. He called me all the time. At least once a day, and most times more. Finally on like Tuesday I said, "do you miss me or something?" and he said, "YES! I thought it would be cool having the house to myself. But it's boring being just me and Raya."

He loves me!! He missed me! He missed me so much, he offered to come pick me up from the airport. Reagan was going to come and do it, and I think she was kind of upset that Marcelo was missing me and volunteered to come get me. Anyway, it was nice to be missed.

And what did I do on my vacation? NOTHING!! And that's just how I wanted it to be. I *would* break down what I did day by day, but it was the same every day. And it went like this:

7:00 am -Wake up
8:00 am- Have my first breakfast. Usually consisting of about 3 bowls of cereal.
Lay on couch. Chat with Judd. Laugh hysterically until I cry
11:00 am-Realize I'm sweating horribly and decide it's time for some Tropical Otter Pops. I eat about 12-15 of them. That is the second breakfast.
Go back to laying on couch. Watch her child destroy her house. Watch Barney videos until nap time.
Eat more Otter Pops
1:00 pm-When nap time is over, we go and get food. It most likely involves fries and an Oreo milkshake. It's lovely.
3:00 pm-Back to laying on the couch laughing my guts out. Watching more Barney and watching her child destroy more of the house.
5:30 pm- My naptime. On Judd's bed. I love naps
7:30 pm-Parmenter gets home. He makes no comments about how Judd has let the child destroy the house, and she hasn't done a single dish or washed a single article of clothing. I really REALLY want Marcelo to be that kind and understanding on those "special" days. But I know that won't always be the case. And who knows? Maybe Parmenter was being on his "Good" behavior since I was there. But I don't think so. I'm sure that he's like that always. He's SOOO calm and cool all the time. I bet he could walk in to his house on fire and still just be calm and cool.
7:45 pm- Eat another 45 Otter Pops
8:00 pm-Judd apologizes once again about the fact that we haven't done anything. I tell her again that I don't care
We spend the next few hours talking about the mission, about members and missionaries that were in love with us (ok, mostly with her, but I had one or two here and there) And catching up on our families. It's ridiculous how much we know about the lives of each other. And it was awesome to just have the time to sit and enjoy conversation without having to worry about having to be somewhere in a few minutes.
12:00 am-We finally go to bed. I feel badly because i know that her baby will be up in a few hours.

You need to know that Judd wouldn't let me pick up anything, or pay for anything. She was diligent about making sure that her baby didn't dive bomb me and end up jumping on my head or belly. (Her baby REALLY wanted to be crawling across my belly all the time). She wouldn't let me help her bring in groceries or do her dishes. I felt like I needed to "earn my keep" but she wouldn't let me!!

THAT'S what I'm talking about! I didn't know someone could be so nice to pregnant women. At my office I'm instructed to move desks and carry files and bend over all the time. No one cares that I'm pregnant, and if I were to groan from belly pain, I'm sure I would have someone take it out on me because they were pissed at being reminded again that I'm pregnant. Judd is like the best caretaker anyone could every ask for. She's what my mom SHOULD be. Instead of trying to get me to cut down to 1 egg and 1 piece of toast, she tells me that I should make my value meal a large so I get the big fries. Love love LOVE her.

And Judd is a great mom. Her little girl is suffering some pretty hard urology problems, and she takes 5 days to dote on her friend from out of town. I give Judd some serious credit for keeping her cool with possible Darby surgery on the horizon. (You would too if you knew her meticulous and worrying tendencies). But honestly, she's taking this all in stride and doing so well. With company!! Who does nothing but watch her TV and eat all her Otter Pops.

But we had some freaking great times doing nothing. I really did laugh so hard I cried. And Judd laughed so hard she almost wet her pants. THAT'S what I'm talking about! And I didn't say this to Judd before I left but I was so jealous of how much she and her husband cuddled and snuggled together. I'm not "cuddle" size right now and Marcelo and I can't both fit on the couch. Judd and her husband can fit on ONE couch and they are so freaking cute. Alicia=jealous

Anyway, I loved being able to take naps whenever I wanted and read the book Reagan loaned me, "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy". TANGENT: I find the book informative, but SUPER biased. Like the author says that you should take your time, sleep whenever you want, and why risk doing something that MIGHT hurt your baby? (like exercise) And then she goes off about how dying your hair *probably* wouldn't' do anything. She says the jury is still out on weather the toxins will do anything to your baby. Some say that it will, others say that it won't. But she doesn't care becuase she's not going to give up her weekly dye job. It just seems that she's conservative and cautious when it comes to pregnancy only when it doesn't disturb her vanity. TANGENT OVER

I am glad to be home, but I wish Judd lived closer. Or I lived closer to her. Well, actually it's better because we would probably never get anything done if we lived close to each other. I guess it's just good to go and see your best friends once in a while, and not all the time. You know, so that laundry and dishes can be done SOMETIME!

And finally, I was really happy to get home to Raya and Marcelo. And walk around in my underwear. For some reason Judd and Parmenter always got really uncomfortable when I took off my pants and walked around in just my chones. Seriously, what gives? Just kidding. But I do miss the Otter Pops. I'm going to have to get my own box soon.

I'm back!! Be prepared for frequent hilarity now that I'm here again!

I miss you Judd!