Catch up

So, I have been a bad blogger. I haven't had time to keep up with posting about everything we've been doing.

Current activities: I am still working full time at the University and am taking 9 hours this semester for my graduate program, hoping to finish by the end of this summer or the fall. I am serving in Relief Society at church as 2nd counselor and attempting to keep Enrichment activities fun and interesting.

James is taking a full load at Del Mar College and recently got an internship with All State insurance company. He has been doing very well in his classes so far.

In between our busy schedules, we haven't had a whole lot of time for fun, but we have tried to get away for a few short trips and weekends alone, which has been nice.

In January we went on our cruise to the Carribean. We had stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Being on the ship was very relaxing and a lot of fun. We layed by the pool, read books, saw some shows, and ate a lot! Jamaica wasn't too exciting. We didn't plan any of the "excursions" which was a big mistake. There is not a whole lot to do when you are wandering around by yourself. And lots of the local people try to sell you weed, haha. But we did take a mini tour around from our bus driver and got to see a really great view from on top of this hill. Jamaica was very green and the scenery (for the most part) was pretty.

In Grand Cayman we went on a "Snuba Adventure," which is a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. James had a blast but it took me a while to get the hang of it. We got to see a shipwreck, coral reef, and even a sea turtle. The water was so incredibly clear and you could see so far under water. It was breathtaking.

There are "Margaritaville" restaurants/bars in several places in the Carribean. We went to the one in Jamaica and it wasn't impressive. James really loves Jimmy Buffett so we decided to also check out the Margaritaville in Grand Cayman. We heard that Jimmy Buffett was playing that day, so we were really excited to possibly see him. But we had already booked our Snuba adventure at the same time, so we tried to rush back and catch him, but we were too late. Oh well, it was still fun!

We got to see some Mayan ruins in the Cozumel port. It took all day to do this activity, but it was worth it. We took a ferry ride to Playa del Carmen and then a bus ride to Tulum. The ruins were really neat, and have been rumored to have correlations with predicted locations with some Book of Mormon cities. We enjoyed exloring them a lot. On the way back, we got some Mexcian food and I even got to use some Spanish. Although I am not very good, it's amazing what you can remember when you're hungry.

The Mayan Temple.

The city of Tulum overlooked a beautiful beach. Too bad we didn't bring our swimsuits.

The fine dining experience was one of the neatest parts of the cruise. You got to order as much as you wanted, and different appetizers, entrees, and desserts were offered each night. It was fun to dress up for some of the nights and feel "elegant." I still felt pretty clumsy, though, I am probably one of those people who needs to take an etiquitte class.

In Febrary we celebrated Valentine's Day by going out to a nice dinner and our first hockey game! I had never been to a hockey game before and I thought it was awesome. James sent me a dozen red roses! Then later we checked into a hotel room and just forgot about "real life" for a night.

Also in February was one year at my job at TAMUCC. I feel like a grown up now.

On March 15, we celebrated our one year anniversary! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. So much has happened and we have been having a great time experiencing life together and spending time with family. James surprised me again and sent a flower arrangement to work (boy, I am pretty spoiled!) and then he surprised me by taking me out to a nice restaurant in Corpus Christi, the Republic of Texas. It was excellent! Then we just enjoyed some quality time together at home. Happy Anniversary James! It was a wonderful 1st anniversary, and we look forward to many more to come! Another post will be coming about our most recent trip to visit where I went on my mission in West Virginia and Virginia.

Christmas

Well this Christmas has been a really good one. James and I came in to San Antonio on the 24th. My grandparents weren't feeling well, so they didn't come to dinner. This is the first year that they have not been there, and it was really weird. But my mom got a honey baked ham, made a cheesy potato cassarole, asparagus, and sweet potato. Everything was delicious. Then we went to a church service with my parents.



We got my dad to set up our old ping pong table in the garage and we have been playing all weekend. I forgot how much fun we used to have playing all the time. Of course, my dad is obsessed with winning and always plays for blood (even when we were kids). I have been practicing over the years and thought that I might have a chance to finally beat him, but alas I still was 0/2.



Christmas morning commenced as per usual-my mom and I were the first ones up, and we had to bug my brother to wake up, and had to harass my sister for half and hour before she would wake up.



My mom made us take these pictures with reindeer antlers on, LOL! I can't believe my dad actually agreed to this.

James playing Wii (that we got from his parents) at my parents house:We got several cool presents. I got a digital picture frame, a new purse, an A&M clock, a crystal candle holder, some handcrafted wooden candle holders from my aunt and uncle (who live in Indonesia), my sister gave me a necklace and my brother got us some movies. My parents gave James a new wallet and $100 for our cruise!!! James' sister gave me a comfy new bathrobe and body wash that smells like chocolate cupcakes! mmmm.

Later that day we went over to my grandparent's apartment (they recently moved into a retirement community a few months ago, and are selling their townhouse), it was an interesting and fun afternoon. Dinner was very yummy. This is on their balcony. The scenery is really pretty. Although it is supposed to be winter, it looks and feels like Fall. We have been wearing short sleeved shirts this whole week (well, technically I am wearing a sweater, but it wasn't cold enough to really be wearing one).

Us inside my grandparent's:

Us with my grandparents:

Both yesterday and today I went walking/running. Hopefully that will help burn some of the calories that I've been consuming this past week! Today James and I went with my sister and saw "Bedtime Stories." We all liked it and thought it was pretty funny and cute.

Tonight all of us went to the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio and ate at Casa Rio. That is where we usually eat downtown, and it is sooooo good! We had to wait for 45 minutes, but once we were seated (we sat outside next to the river) the service was really fast and the food was delicious. Finally some REAL mexican food (tex-mex, really). Although one downside was that because there were a million birds flying around, my brother got pooped on twice, hahaha. It was pretty funny. Then we walked around the river for a while to look at the beautiful Christmas lights and showed my family the hotel that James and I stayed in on our honeymoon. It is soooo pretty.

My sister at our table at Casa Rio:

So basically, that wraps up our Christmas. I think James and I are leaving tomorrow, but I'm not sure what time. I hope you all had a good holiday and have a Happy New Year!

Getting ready for Christmas has been a lot of fun. James surprised me with a nativity set! I had been wanting to get one, but I just got a cheap one from the dollar store. James got the Willow Tree nativity set from the Hallmark store. It is BEAUTIFUL! You can buy the main set, and then add on to it with various stable animals, shepards, etc. We did not get the stable, because it was very expensive and was kind of small.

So several days after I got the nativity, James surprised me AGAIN! He had used his dad's tools to make a manger/stable out of some wood. It looks great! I can't believe he made it, I could never do something like that! He is also going to stain it, but here is a picture of the nativity set:



Another view. We got this Deacon's bench on clearance at Linens N Things, 70% off because it is going out of business. We love it!

We have had a lot of cookie baking going on lately! I made sugar cookies from scratch to bring to work and they turned out so yummy. James and I also make some snickerdoodles this week which were delicious. Here is a picture of some of our baked goodness:

Christmas is a little more than a week away! Pretty much all of our Christmas shopping is done and we are looking forward to some time off and spending it with each other and our family.

Well, it has been a while since I updated! We have been pretty busy with holidays and the end of the semester. We spent part of Thanksgiving at James' house, and then I got to go to San Antonio and hang out with my family for a few days. We went to a Spurs game and had a great time, and we were especially amused by some of the "wannabe ganstas" sitting aroud us.

James surprised me one night with a Christmas tree! I was waiting for us to go pick it out together. One night James called and told me to go buy a tree stand. When I came home, the tree was already there! I was beyond excited and we decorated it that night.


The final result is quite lovely, if you ask me! I would enjoy having the tree up all year, haha. It smells so nice. I have a bunch of my ornaments that my mom has kepts since I was a kid and it made the tree more personal. Also, my mom gave us a pretty ornament that says "Our First Christmas." I love it!

It's been pretty fun getting ready for the Christmas, although we are pretty much BROKE from spending all our free cash on payments for our cruise this upcoming January. So...if gifts are a little "cheap" this year, you'll know why...haha. We really need this trip after a hectic semester. I am looking forward to it soooo much. Getting a paid vacation is REALLY nice!

In other news, James got all A's for this semester! He took 17 hours and did well, I am very proud of him! I still have two finals to take, and then I will also be done. I can't wait!

Flowers

Over the weekend, James got me this beautiful plant with pink flowers. Isn't he great? I'm not really sure what kind of plant it is, but it is very pretty. It makes our apartment feel more "homey."

I was just thinking the other day about how much flowers can really make your day seem to go better. As I was leaving my apartment a few days ago, I saw one of the prettiest flowers I have ever seen growing on a fence. I just thought how cool it is that God created little things like flowers just to brighten our day and make our world more beautiful. I am grateful for that.

I made a card and brought some flowers for my boss on National Boss' Day. It was awesome to see her reaction. She walked in and way saying what a bad day she was already having...and then she saw the flowers on her desk and got totally happy! It's amazing what something so small can do!

Shark Attack

Well this weekend James went deep sea fishing for his brother's birthday. I was invited to go...and part of me really wanted to, but I really just needed some time to myself. So he went and had a good time fishing. Apparently it started raining and the boat was rocking back and forth a lot...and there were people puking. I probably would have been one of those people, so I'm glad I didn't go because of that. BUT...it would have been really cool to see James' catch of the day! He caught a SHARK! Pretty cool.





He cut apart the shark and it smelled AWFUL. haha...we were all running away from the smell. His dad Barbequed it for James to eat. I didn't try it...but James said it was alright. It was pretty fun to watch. :)

This little guy was brave enough to touch the shark! He was the only one of the nephews willing to even go close to it. Although he doesn't look too excited in this picture, haha.

Recipes

So I made something new tonight for dinner...and it turned out prtty good! We usually eat a lot of frozen food and the same things each week because we are so busy. James is a great cook and he has several things that he likes to make, also. I'm excited because I've made several new things lately and they have been yummy. I am proud that I am learning new things...so I have decided to make a list of some things that I can make now.


Things I have always made:

Spaghetti
Tacos
Hamburgers
Meatloaf
Chicken and Rice Cassarole

New things I have learned to make since being married:

Baked Chicken & Scalloped Potatoes
Cornbread Taco Bake Cassarole
Homeade chicken strips and fries
Pasta with garlic butter sauce
King Ranch Chicken
Black Bean Cassarole (what I made tonight! mmm)

Hopefully I can keep adding to this list. I really like trying new things (as long as they are relatively simple). Following recipes isn't that hard! :)