Saturday is a Special Day

Sleeping in...

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Anne of Green Gables and Season 1 of Criminal Minds
(This is an odd pair, I realize.)

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My first big cross-stitching project

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Shopping with the girls
(and learning how to be crafty)

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Munch and Mingle put on by the Spanish-Speaking Ward
(Bean dips, queso, a variety of salsas, Mexican wedding cookies)

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A very spiritual General Relief Society Broadcast

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Coming home to a clean house, vacuumed car, and freshly baked cookies

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An incredibly satisfying and delightful Saturday!

On Friendship

Moving to a new place and meeting new people has really made me think about friendships. We’ve only been in Austin a little over a month now and I feel I have so many friends here! It’s an odd thing, I think, that when you’ve moved away to a new place you begin to realize, perhaps even for the first time, how important it is to have friends nearby. Of course I have Glen, who is my very best friend, but having other friends adds a type of variety and depth to your life that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

Even from my little group of friends I have here, I feel like I have developed a type of support group. It sounds funny, but it’s true! And I can’t tell you how helpful it has been. My friend Mary had a little birthday party for our other friend Mindy, and I met so many people there. Mary moved in the same time we did, but she just invited everyone she met on the two previous Sundays. It was great! I got to know so many women, and they got to know me. It is so nice to have people ask me questions like how the job search is coming, and to have them invite me to other activities during the day because they know the situation I’m in. Bottom line, I really like my friends here in Austin.

But this thought led to another, Well what about when we move away? Will we still be friends? And then that thought led me to think about all the people in my life that I considered to be good friends of mine, and I didn’t even have to move away for us to “stop” being friends.

Do you ever think about that? They say “friends come and go,” but why does this happen? Why do we have to faze friends in and out, as if we only have room in our friend jar for a certain number of friends? I wish every friend we made could continue to be our friends, regardless of how long you go without talking, or how far away you move. Then we would probably never feel alone, and always feel loved, because we would have hundreds of friends, every where, all the time. Why does there have to be this sense of “I used to be friends with her, but that was years ago. I don’t know anything about her now.” Does that even matter?

There are girls who I used to consider really close friends, some even my best friends. And to my knowledge, none of these friendships ended because of some fight, or some kind of altercation. We just… grew up and grew apart, got new friends, had different classes, got a boyfriend etc.

Why do we let this happen?

So, I decided to write a little note to some of those friends that meant something to me at one time or another. I would like to tell all of them thank you, that I miss them, and that I still have many good memories with them. I thought about this for a long time, and wondered if a public blog was an appropriate place to do such a thing. Why not just send them a private message? Well, I figured that sending a message would perhaps make them feel obligated to send a reply, when in fact, this is not the case. There is no need for reply. My purpose here is exactly what I stated above: to tell these girls that they meant something to me and I haven’t forgotten.

Candace: I have so many great memories with you. I think we met in 7^th grade either playing softball or in Drama with Ms. Tanner. To this day I think you’re one of the people who have made me laugh the hardest. We used to be goofy out on the field and I loved that you were so funny and always in a good mood. Coach West gave us medals after one season of softball and they spelled your name “Candance.” I still laugh when I think about it. We had a couple sleepovers at your house and I always had a lot of fun with you.

Chelsea: We used to be best best friends for a year or two in high school! Holy cow we did so many fun things together. I loved it when we would hang out at my dad’s shop and how we both took auto one semester. On my 16^th birthday you bought me a bunch of leopard-skinned stuff to decorate my car with, and even though I didn’t have my license yet, my dad let me take it out and go cruising. While we were out, we witnessed a small dog flying out of the bed of a truck, being driven by two ugly guys that tried to race us. They won, but not really because their dog’s face skidded across the road and almost died. You almost cried but instead we almost peed our pants laughing so hard. You used to make the best CD mixes and we would listen to them in my car. I still think about those things all the time, and I really miss it.

Danielle: I can’t remember when we became close friends, but we were always neighbors. It may have been around when we were 12 because I remember you telling me all about girls camp and getting excited for my first year. I think during that summer I came over to your house every day. Sometimes I would be brave enough to cut through the Phillips’ back yard, but most the time I was too afraid so I would walk all the way around the block. We would roam the mall, or stay home and play Harvest Moon on N64. You also introduced me to 10^th Kingdom, which is now one of my all time favorite things to watch. You had a friend or cousin come visit from Indonesia and she went to girl’s camp with us. We both tried to learn the language before she came, but pretty much failed. We became friends with Heather and Kelly, whom you are still close with. We dated those boys that were all friends. I was going out with Todd, and then he moved and we never heard from him again hahaha

Jessica: We are still talk occasionally because you are close with Harmony. But we met in Drama with Ms. Tanner, who was just crazy. We had a good time at play rehearsals and goofing off all the time. In 9^th grade we were in the same Geography class with that really tall guy who was the basketball coach. We passed notes to each other and as a result, probably got really bad grades.

Julia: We worked at Allyse’s together. I remember the first time I saw you I thought you were Hayden Panettiere. You saw me on campus once and we talked. We talked all the time and you were part of the reason I became an English major, which is awesome because that’s where I ended up meeting Glen. After my dad died you were so great and would listen to me. Occasionally you would text me and we would meet up on campus for lunch. Once during a fashion show we did for Allyse’s I totally lost it after peeking through the curtains and saw someone’s dad holding a camera. I wished it was my dad. I cried to you for a while and you cried too. I was glad you were there.

Kawai: We met at Soar! We stayed up really late every night and wished that we were roommates but instead we were stuck with other people. One night you dragged your mattress all the way into my room and slept there. You got startled early the next morning when you thought our counselor was coming to wake us up, so you jumped up so fast and tried to drag your mattress back to your room quickly, which was not possible. It was so funny I was laughing super hard. After Soar ended I came and picked you up from your cousin’s house and I took you up the canyon to see the mountains. You went back to Hawaii and we emailed each other back and forth for a while, but eventually we lost contact. Except I found you on facebook the other day :)

Kelly: We met in drama at Centennial Middle School. You always had so much energy and pizzazz that I always wanted to be around you. We found out that our moms went to high school together and I thought that was pretty neat. You were such a loyal friend and I knew I could always trust you. For a time, you, me, Heather, and Danielle were good friends. After Todd “kissed” me for the first and only time (which happened right across from your house) I felt so guilty that I cried and we sat in your room for a while. We were friends for a bit in high school because you dated some of my friends. We don’t talk anymore but I love reading your blog because you still have that energy and pizzazz that I remember.

Kellie: We were in the same Wolf Pack at Centennial with Ms. Smith. We became friends. I think you were also in my health class that year. You introduced me to your sister, Korrie. Somehow, we all ended up on the cheer squad. It really is all blurry for me now, but I remember practicing and having sleepovers at Rachel’s house. We even had a sleepover at your house too. You and Korrie did awesome back handsprings and that made me feel like we were legit cheerleaders.

Paige: Our moms knew each other because I think they coached cheer together, or something like that. I forget how we became friends, but I think it was because one of my friends liked you a whole lot, and you ended up dating him. We were also in the same Geo/Trig class, which was taught by your mom. We had this notebook that we would pass around and write things to each other and then hand it off. You wrote really amazing songs and would play them for us on the piano. You were so funny and you had such a great attitude about things. Recently, I found your blog and you found mine, and I’m glad that we can keep in touch that way.

Sarah: We met through Emily, who lived across the street from your sister. We played every time you came to visit from Vegas. You invited us to go boating, and I think your sister even took us to Lagoon once! You introduced me to the Backstreet Boys, who I became obsessed with shortly after. We grew up and kind of grew apart. When my dad died you came to his viewing, and I thought that was really nice of you.

So, this is me deciding that I am going to be a better friend and make sure my friends don’t get left behind or forgotten. I have many years of life ahead of me and I’m going to try to expand my friend jar to a friend stadium where there is no limit to how many friends I keep in touch with.

Have a great weekend!

Down by the Bay

Well hello again!

Things here are going swell. I continue to job hunt and Glen continues to go to class every day. Our apartment is great also.

Except for the fact that we/I continue to find creatures in here all the time.

We have already found a little lizard, a few large crickets, and many many millipedes.

The millipedes don't scare me so much anymore. In fact, I think I've even started feeling bad for them. They are really really little, but they walk so fast! One millipede can walk across our whole living room in just a couple minutes! But unfortunately for them we have light colored carpet so we can spot them easily. Before Glen left for his first day of school, he taught me how to kill them.

Glen: You just get a piece of toilet paper... like this. And then grab them and flush them down the toilet.
Pained look on her face
Nicole: ......

Inevitably, I was killing 4-7 millipedes in a day. At first, I was so scared to grab them, I would just poke them a bit. I found that when I did this they would roll up into a little ball, and then it was easier to pick them up. So I kept doing this to all the millipedes before flushing them. Then I finally had this thought:

"Oh it's another millipede. He's rolling into a little ball to brace himself for his death."

And then I kind of felt sad. They are, after all, my only companions here at my apartment every day when I'm all alone for hours upon hours.

Then I snapped out of it. Bugs are not friends! Clearly I need to get out more.

Anyway we had our first little home gathering last night and invited two couples over for games. We had so much fun! I would've played all night long, and if it were my family, we would have. I didn't realize how much I had been missing talking to girls. I am one of 4 daughters and have worked with all girls for the last 5 years, but have mostly been home alone every day since mid-to-late-August. Okay, so that is only like 3.5 weeks but it feels like forever! ANYway I didn't want them to leave but they are responsible and had to get home to go to bed.

But I am not-so-responsible so Glen stayed up with me and we played Rummikub and two full rounds of Phase 10.

That is how I know he loves me :)

Now for a Labor Day Weekend recap!

My Grandparents Galan were visiting Corpus Christi (as I mentioned in the previous post) so we decided to visit them. All my relatives, however distantly related we are, were extremely generous. We stayed at Gilbert and Delma's (my mom's cousins on my Grandma's side) house and had a good time chatting with them and their kids. We also got to go to the bay and enjoy the breeze of the ocean. One of the highlights was attending church with my grandparents in a ward that they used to go to a very long time ago. So many people knew them! It made me happy to see them reunite with so many old friends. And then we went to a barbecue with my Grandpa's siblings and nieces/nephews and some of my own distant cousins. I REALLY had a good time.

This trip made me think a lot about families and how it was so cool to meet so many new people that were actually my relatives. Although they were technically strangers, it felt special knowing that I was with family, even if they weren't immediate. Everyone was so nice and I was glad to make those connections. So... I started working on my family history right when we got home. You should try it too!

Okay NOW for some pictures!

Driving to the bay:

We fed the seagulls! I was a natural...

...but it was because I was trained at a young age.

This is a photo of me at the same place who knows how many years earlier. Glen wanted me to reenact the photo but I refused. Sorry for posting this picture again, Penny (my aunt in the pink jumpsuit). We know the late 80s/early 90s were a hard time for fashion.

What the pantleg?

Anyway, here I am again, feeding the seagulls.

Here is Glen feeling how warm the water was.

Pretty sunset!

At this point we sat with my grandparents and just chatted for maybe another hour or so! It was so relaxing and fun. Grandma told me about how when Grandpa was in Vietnam she would come with the kids, bring a blanket, and sit out by the water. All her neighbors would come too and their kids would just play and they would relax. Sometimes they would bring watermelon and just hang out.

I like hearing stories like that.

Well, the wind was blowing for a while and when we got back in the car Glen's hair was stuck like this:

Hilarious!

This is the barbecue the next day. It was in Sabrina's (my mom's cousin on my grandpa's side) backyard/behind the Galan Store.

Grandma Galan and a cousin Joshua.

It was Serena's (my mom's cousin's (Jovanna) daughter) birthday so they had a piñata!
Jovanna is gearing the kids up.

This is my grandpa's older brother Pilar. We call him Joe. And this is his wife Consuela. We call her Suela (sway-la). I love being Mexican.

After letting all her kids try, Jovanna decided to take matters into her own hands!

Pedro (grandpa), Pilar, and Marina. Siblings!

Dessert was delicious. Serena had a birthday cake and of course my grandpa made something awesome. Peach cobbler!

Marina and some of her daughters and granddaughter.
Marina, Sabrina, Jovanna, Magda, and Serena.

We had such a great time! Grandma and Delma made some really delicious beans and there were even some that were leftover.

But then Glen put them on the car and guess what happened.

Anyway, after a long and eventful weekend we drove back home.

Alright, so that would be a good place to end this post but I'm not quite done yet.

So apparently we were in a tropical storm. It even had a name. Tropical Storm Hermine. It was SO rainy! Gary and Cindy (Glen's parents) lost power at their home in San Antonio for 8 hours! Well, I was cooking dinner and the trash just absolutely needed to be taken out. So Glen set off. When he came back I turned around and saw that he had gone out like this.

What a smart boy.

And that's why I married him.

Call Me Crazy... But That Walmart Looks Like a Bush.

In the past week I've had more free time than I've had, probably since before I was in kindergarten. Seriously! It's the first September since 1993 (see figure A.) that I'm not gearing up for the new school year. When I started seeing everyone's facebook statuses about the first day of school I was kind of sad.

But that only lasted about 30 seconds.

Figure A.
Me and my dad on the first day of school. This could actually be 1994, but close enough.


So in my spare time (aside from applying for jobs etc.) I have been watching movies, playing my piano, reading books, and surfin' the net,-- which can get incredibly boring once you've been doing it for hours. But every now and then, while I've been doing the latter, I come across something that I think is hilarious. I will share one of these treasures with you now.

It's called...

How to Plan a Tween Sleepover

By an eHow Contributor

I want to do this! What's This?

Plan a Tween Sleepover

How to Plan a Tween Sleepover

Sleepovers can provide hours of fun for tweens, kids ages 8 to 12. To plan a fun tween sleepover, you'll need organization, creativity and a lot of sleep before the party starts.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Determine your rules for the sleepover party. Decide on how many kids you'll allow your child to invite. Four to six children is best. Plan where the tweens will sleep and determine what time they will go to bed.

2. Shop for snacks that tweens enjoy, as well as some healthier options. Pick up some chips, pretzels, candy, pure fruit juice and vegetables with dip. Involve your tween in the selection.

3. Plan a list of activities for the sleepover. Consider having the tweens make their own individual mini-pizzas, create a scavenger hunt for objects you've hidden around your house and in your yard, set up a craft table for art projects or allow the tweens to bake cookies.

4. Research some popular tween movies and rent them or borrow them from library. Ask your tween for a list of her preferences to make the process easier.

5. Play some of your tween's favorite music during the sleepover party. Encourage the tweens to make up their own dances. Provide them with hair brushes, spatulas and spoons so they can act like rock stars.

6. Set out board games for the tweens to play after you've gone to bed. This activity is generally quieter than the others you might have planned.

7. Pitch a few tents outside in your yard. Host the tween slumber party there instead of inside your house. Encourage the tweens to tell each other scary stories while gathered around a small fire in an outdoor fire pit. Stay with the tweens to supervise the fire.

Read more: How to Plan a Tween Sleepover | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2126016_plan-tween-sleepover.html#ixzz0yQSklgtY

Don't you love it? My favorites are 2, 5, and 7. And I don't even know how I came across this article, but that's what I love about the internet.

Anyway, this article got me thinking about the sleepover parties I used to have. Man, they were fun, even if they weren't as planned out as above. I do remember, however, rocking out to Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys on occasion, although we probably wouldn't have if our parents had encouraged us to (see above article, number 5), because that would probably be awkward. I'm actually feeling weird right now imagining my mom smiling and telling me and my friends to make up our own dance moves and pretend to be rock stars.

Now friends, correct me if I'm wrong, but most of our sleepovers did not involve said healthy snacks. All I remember is Pizza, Salt and Vinegar Chips, and Salsa con Queso dip. I'm pretty sure if someone's parent handed us a tray of veggies we would have thrown them across the room in anger. Not only because they were vegetables and we were still young enough to think they were gross, but because we were all going through that pre-teen stage where we were really moody and didn't think our parents understood us.

Here is a picture of me and most of my friends at a sleepover party that was awesome:


And now most of my friends probably hate me. But it is all in jest you guys! You love and miss it, you know it. And I know it.

New topic. So I suppose I should speak of some adventures that involve my husband as well. My grandparents Galan drove through Austin on Wednesday on their way to visit Corpus Christi, which is their hometown and where many of their family members and friends live. So we decided to get some dinner with them and since Grandma was already sick of Whataburger (my Grandpa LOVES Whataburger, and apparently they had already gone twice. Who knows how many more visits they'll make during their trip) we decide to get some Chinese food. Then we took a short trip to Round Rock Donuts, again, which we enjoyed thoroughly. We made it there safely, thanks to our GPS.

About the GPS... she was hating on us last week. We decided to go to Walmart. We searched for the nearest Walmart and first it took us here:

What the? So we typed it in again and it took us here:

So we both laughed and decided that there was no way it could mess up again.

But it did:


So we look at each other and say, "Really?" and then for the fourth time, make the search for a Walmart. By now we are just trying to get out of this ghetto of a place before we get shot.

So then, our GPS takes us here:

Well. At least bein' in the middle of the road is better than the ghetto.

Enjoy your long weekend!