Happy New Year's EVE

Okay so this past year has been great. Let's summarize the things that happened in 2010:

January
-We got into Escrow for our house that we put an offer in September 2009.
-Aaron and Camille got their dog Spencer

February
-My cousins Troy and Ceng got their dog Emma
-Jacob and I celebrated 7 years of togetherness --not our actual anniversary
-Lenders finally approved our loan (for the house!)

March
-We closed escrow and the house is ours!
-We moved into our home in Murrieta
-Got our favorite furniture for our home from Mathis Brothers

April
-We had painters paint the exterior of our house
-We bought appliances!
-We painted our kitchen and family room
-Jacob's family came to visit and stayed with us at our new place
-Jacob and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary in our new home
-My family came over to swim
-Our eldest cousin, Lulubell died :(

May
-Lots of kitchen decorating
-Bought a huge flat screen for our family room
-Cousins visiting again! Yay

June
-Met the Nolans from church. They are awesome!
-Finally got a dining table!
-Fixed up Jacob's office

July
-Friends over for July 4th!
-Family came over for my 26th birthday party
-LOTS of swimming with cousins

August
-Went to Utah for Jacob's sister's wedding (Krista & Dustin)
-Dustin joined the church!
-Finally moved my piano from my parents house to my house!
-Tanya Nolan told us about her friend whose dog had puppies! We can get one for free!

September
-2 flat tires on the Prius! ...Got 4 new tires.
-Went to our 2nd Fab Four (Beatles tribute) concert!
-My best friend Irene came to my house to visit
-Found lots of friends and family on my Papa's side on Facebook
-Met the Custodio family (old friends of Mama and Papa)
-Sister turns 9

October
-Got the puppy we've been waiting for! Bella, our golden retriever
-Coco is 2 years old!
-Office BFF leaves the company. Good for you, Shannon!
-Jacob purues his true calling of what he WANTS to do. Very proud of you, Jacob!
-Bought a BB gun. LOVE IT!
-Dressed Bella up as a tiger... she hated it
-Mom and dad go to Australia

November
-Aleila's birthday and Pacquiao fight party at Tita My's!
-Jacob turns 27! Happy birthday, Sweetheart!
-Happy Thanksgiving

December
-Took family pictures and they turned out horrible. Let's be on time next time, family!
-Aaron turns 12
-Jacob and I put up our Christmas tree. Bought a 'new home' ornament
-Bought Coco a doghouse! She loves it
-Participated in office christmas potluck. I made salad
-Ortega gets flooded... i'm 3 hours late to work.
-Christmas at Tita My's!

Christmas Tradition

Every year we celebrate Christmas at Brussels Avenue. Since everyone goes to their in-laws on Christmas day, we've made it a tradition to spend Christmas Eve together (the Fernandez side of the family). Here are pictures!

Every year we celebrate Christmas at Brussels Avenue. Since everyone goes to their in-laws on Christmas day, we've made it a tradition to spend Christmas Eve together (the Fernandez side of the family). Here are pictures!

Bella Loves Poo. I mean Pooh

Jacob got this Pooh Bear for me a few years ago and now it belongs to Bella. She loves it so much. Coco would tear that-- would tear ANYTHING you give her to pieces, but Bella... Bella will love and care and cuddle anything you give her. Especially her own classic Pooh Bear!

The Milk Factory

I took this picture on my way to work today (I drove the 76 to the 5 freeway since Ortega Hwy is still closed). I remember these being a lot bigger when I was smaller... They obviously look like boobs... so I call them the Milk Factory. ...And as of now, I STILL don't know what those really are for!

And The Rains Came...

Today I was 2 hours late to work. I normally start at 8:30am, but I didn't get there till after 10am! I left the house at 6:45am, drove to the Ortega hwy (my usual commute), and on the way there, I realized that I should've kayaked instead.

By the time I made it to Ortega, they had signs blocking the road. It was closed! :( I drove 20 minutes from home to find out it was closed... So I had to drive all the way back to the freeway and take 15 North to 91 West to 241 Toll. ...Worst idea EVER! I should've taken the 76 (Oceanside) because I was stuck in traffic for 2-3 hours. NOT FUN! I finally made it to work and everyone was clapping. They were worried. Good thing I made it safely!
We had a Christmas luncheon/potluck thingy today. Everyone in our group participated, which is surprising since a lot of us don't (but i do!). I brought Almond Strawberry Salad that I made. It was my first time making it, and it turned out pretty good. Everyone complimented me on how yummy it was. Victory! I took 5 South to 76 East home. It was waaay better than my alternative routes. It only took me 1hr and 45 minutes to get home-- 15 minutes more than it would normally take if I drove Ortega. Yay

Dog Cabin

It's been raining and we've been bringing Coco in the house and having her sleep on the rug downstairs. We're afraid she'll wander around at night and chew things up, so we always keep her on her leash and tie it to the bottom of the stairs. She's chewed through several leashes and today we finally decided to get her a dog house! Mama found one at Costco a few months ago but it was the small version. I tried looking up larger sizes on the Costco website but they had nothing! We went to Petsmart tonight and found the one we wanted! And it was LARGE! Perfect for Coco! We decided that buying it would eventually pay itself off. ..And Coco needs a house/room anyway :) So we took it home, put it together and Coco LOVED it! Bella's a little jelly, but she'll get over it since she sleeps INside in her crate lol

We even found a cheap but comfy rug for her at Big Lots! :)

Look...

We found them cuddling! Coco was licking Bella's ears :) Sisterly love... haha

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

This year is our first Christmas in OUR new home! I've been trying to look for a 'new home' or 'first home' ornament and I can't seem to find one anywhere! Anyway, today Jacob and I put up our Christmas tree! It's a fakey because they are easier to put together/manage and obviously cheaper (since it's what we've been using over the years)! I'm happy with any tree :D I just love trees! Anyway, we were going thru our ornament boxes and I found our first ornament! It's a gift that Jacob gave me when we were engaged! It's two hearts inside of one big heart, with our names engraved... way back in 2005! It's like opening up memories :) Here are pics!

Also, we drove around our neighborhood and found a culdesac with the end of the street decorated...

HandaMade Logo

Mama asked me to draw up a logo for her online shop HandaMade (hand-knit gifts). She wanted a kitty playing with yarn and needles... so I drew this!

But then she wanted a shark (representing her famous Shark Cozy) with "HandaMade" written inside of it, so I drew this!

Family Pictures...

I arranged for the family to take pictures today. Everyone was late in getting to the park so by the time we were ALL there, it was DARK! ....I was pissed. Pictures came out dark and ugly... We all went home after the failed family pictures. I took pictures of every one in front of the Christmas tree. Those pics came out better. I think we'll just take the yearly studio family pics on Christmas Eve this year. On a better note, here are some happy indoor pictures!

Happy Birthday Papa

Today at work I decorated a little Christmas tree in honor of Papa. Today is his birthday. He would have been 52 years old. Happy birthday, Papa :)